Manchester Synagogue Attacker Was on Bail for Reported Sexual Assault When Attack Occurred
The individual responsible for the violent assault at a Manchester synagogue had been released on police bail related to an accusation of sexual assault at the time, as per reports.
The attacker, Jihad al-Shamie, who was 35 years old, was being probed over an alleged sex crime that is said to have happened in recent months.
The attacker, of Syrian origin, is believed to have previous criminal convictions, however he was not being monitored 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 multiple other individuals during the assault on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in north Manchester on Thursday.
Two men, 53-year-old Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz, 66, lost their lives in the attack. One victim succumbed to a bullet fired by armed police aimed at Shamie.
Anti-terror units and security services are working to uncover the attacker's background, as it is believed that he selected Yom Kippur, the most sacred day in the Jewish calendar, to attack those praying.
Even though Shamie was not known to counter-terrorism agencies or referred to the Prevent deradicalization program, he had been prosecuted for criminal offenses.
The exact timing the alleged sexual assault occurred, but the suspect had been bailed while under investigation by Greater Manchester police.
One source stated that he possessed other prior offenses, albeit for minor infractions unrelated to terrorism.
“He was on nobody’s radar for terrorism but he certainly possessed a criminal record, though nothing to suggest he was going to do anything like this,” an informant remarked.
Authorities are looking into whether Shamie sent a death threat to a ex-Member of Parliament in the year 2012.
The email to the former MP 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 Henley's representative in 2024, expressed uncertainty if it was the identical individual and believed that police had not taken the threat against his life seriously enough back then.
A news report from that year suggested that he was likely targeted due to his support for Israel.
“I don’t want to seem overdramatic, but you have to take seriously a threat when it says, ‘I would like to see you dead,’” Howell said in 2012, according to coverage from media outlets.
“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 given him “extremely good security advice.”
Law enforcement have yet to verify whether the “Jihad Alshamie” who contacted Howell is the identical person who committed the synagogue attack, but they are investigating a possible link.
The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, stated that Shamie was not under active investigation by counter-terrorism police or security agencies when the attack. They did not believe he had ever been on their watchlist, although inquiries were still ongoing.
