Suspect in Manchester Synagogue Assault Was on Bail for Alleged Rape When Attack Occurred
The suspect who carried out the violent assault at a Manchester synagogue had been released on police bail in connection with an alleged rape when the incident took place, according to reports.
Jihad al-Shamie, who was 35 years old, was being probed for the reported sex crime that is said to have happened earlier this year.
The attacker, who was born in Syria, is also thought to have a record of criminal offenses, though he had not drawn attention from counter-terrorism officials.
Shamie was fatally shot by armed officers after he killed a member of the Jewish community and caused serious harm to several other people during the attack at the Heaton Park synagogue in north Manchester last Thursday.
Two men, 53-year-old Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz, 66, lost their lives during the incident. One victim succumbed to a bullet fired by armed police targeting the attacker.
Counter-terrorism police and intelligence agencies are currently investigating the attacker's background, with indications that he chose Yom Kippur, the highest holy day in the Jewish calendar, to attack those praying.
Although the attacker was not known to anti-terror organizations or enrolled in the Prevent deradicalization program, he had been prosecuted for prior crimes.
The exact timing the reported rape took place, but the suspect was on bail while being investigated by local law enforcement.
An insider indicated that he had additional prior offenses, albeit for minor infractions unrelated to terrorist activities.
“No one suspected him of terrorism but he certainly possessed a criminal record, though no indication he was going to do such an extreme act,” said one source.
Police are looking into whether the attacker sent a threatening message to a ex-Member of Parliament in the year 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.”
The former MP, who stepped down 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 indicated that he may have been singled out 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 threat when it says, ‘I would like to see you dead,’” the former MP remarked at the time, according to 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 weird enough, with a distorted view of life, to make an attempt to act on it.” He noted that local police had given him “extremely good security advice.”
Police have not confirmed whether the “Jihad Alshamie” who contacted the former MP is the identical person who carried out the assault on the synagogue, but they are exploring a potential connection.
The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said that the attacker was not under ongoing scrutiny by counter-terrorism police or security agencies when the incident. They had no reason to think he had previously been on their radar, although inquiries were still ongoing.
