Manchester Synagogue Attacker Had Been Released on Bail for Reported Sexual Assault During Time of Incident

The suspect who carried out the deadly attack at a Manchester synagogue was free on bail from authorities related to an alleged rape when the incident took place, according to available information.

Jihad al-Shamie, aged 35, was under investigation for the reported sex crime that is said to have happened earlier this year.

Al-Shamie, of Syrian origin, is also thought to have previous criminal convictions, though he was not being monitored from counter-terrorism officials.

The assailant was fatally shot by responding police after he killed a member of the Jewish community and caused serious harm to several other people during the assault on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in north Manchester on Thursday.

Two individuals, Adrian Daulby, 53 and 66-year-old Melvin Cravitz, lost their lives in the attack. One of them succumbed to a round discharged by officers aimed at the attacker.

Counter-terrorism police and security services are working to uncover the assailant's history, as it is believed that he chose the holiest day in Judaism, the highest holy day in the Jewish calendar, to attack those praying.

Even though Shamie had not been flagged to counter-terrorism agencies or referred to the Prevent deradicalization program, he had been prosecuted for criminal offenses.

The exact timing the reported rape took place, but the suspect had been bailed while being investigated by Greater Manchester police.

An insider stated that he possessed other prior offenses, though for less serious crimes unrelated to terrorism.

“He was on nobody’s radar for terrorism but he definitely had a history of crime, though nothing to suggest he was going to do such an extreme act,” said one source.

Police are examining whether the attacker was behind a threatening message to a ex-Member of Parliament in the year 2012.

A message to John Howell came from someone identifying as “Jihad Alshamie” and said, “It is people like you who deserve to die.”

The former MP, who stepped down as MP for Henley in 2024, expressed uncertainty if it was the same person and felt that police had not taken the death threat seriously enough back then.

Media coverage from 2012 indicated that he was likely targeted due to his pro-Israel stance.

“The last thing I want to appear as is a drama queen, but you have to take seriously a menacing message when it says, ‘I would like to see you dead,’” Howell said in 2012, in coverage by the Jerusalem Post.

“It is not just a question of me, it is my family and my staff. All it takes is one person out there who is unstable enough, with a warped perspective of life, to make an attempt to act on it.” He noted that Thames Valley police had provided him with “extremely good security advice.”

Police have not confirmed whether the “Jihad Alshamie” who contacted the former MP is the identical person who committed the synagogue attack, but they are investigating a possible link.

Shabana Mahmood, Shabana Mahmood, stated that Shamie was not under ongoing scrutiny by counter-terrorism police or intelligence services at the time of the incident. They had no reason to think he had ever been on their watchlist, although investigations were continuing.