The suspect who carried out the deadly attack at a Manchester synagogue had been released on bail from authorities in connection with an accusation of sexual assault at the time, according to available information.
The attacker, Jihad al-Shamie, who was 35 years old, was being probed for the reported sexual assault that is said to have happened earlier this year.
The attacker, of Syrian origin, is also thought to have a record of criminal offenses, however he had not drawn attention from counter-terrorism officials.
The assailant was killed by police gunfire by armed officers following the murder of a Jewish man and severely injured multiple other individuals during the attack at the Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester's northern area on Thursday.
Two men, Adrian Daulby, 53 and 66-year-old Melvin Cravitz, died during the incident. One of them was fatally hit a bullet fired by officers aimed at the attacker.
Counter-terrorism police and intelligence agencies are working to uncover the attacker's background, as it is believed that he chose the holiest day in Judaism, the most sacred day in the Jewish calendar, to target worshippers.
Although the attacker was not known to anti-terror organizations or enrolled in the anti-radicalisation scheme Prevent, he had faced prosecution for prior crimes.
The exact timing the alleged sexual assault took place, but Shamie was on bail while being investigated by local law enforcement.
One source stated that he possessed other criminal convictions, though for minor infractions unrelated to terrorist activities.
“He was on nobody’s radar for terrorism but he certainly possessed a history of crime, though no indication he was going to do such an extreme act,” an informant remarked.
Authorities are looking into whether the attacker was behind a death threat to a former Conservative MP in 2012.
A message to the former MP came from someone calling themselves “Jihad Alshamie” and said, “It is people like you who deserve to die.”
Howell, who left his position as MP for Henley in 2024, expressed uncertainty if it was the identical individual and felt that police did not treat the death threat with adequate seriousness at the time.
Media coverage from 2012 suggested that Howell was likely targeted due to his pro-Israel stance.
“I don’t want to seem overdramatic, but you have to take seriously a menacing message when it says, ‘I would like to see you dead,’” Howell remarked at the time, in reports 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 distorted view of life, to make an attempt to carry this out.” He added that Thames Valley police had provided him with “highly effective security advice.”
Police have not confirmed whether the “Jihad Alshamie” who contacted the former MP is the same individual who committed the synagogue attack, but they are investigating a possible link.
The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said that the attacker was not under ongoing scrutiny by anti-terror units or security agencies when the attack. They had no reason to think he had previously been on their radar, although investigations were still ongoing.
