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The suspect who carried out the violent assault at a Manchester synagogue had been released on police bail in connection with an accusation of sexual assault when the incident took place, as per reports.

Jihad al-Shamie, aged 35, was under investigation over an alleged sex crime that reportedly occurred earlier this year.

Al-Shamie, who was born in Syria, is also thought to have previous criminal convictions, though he was not being monitored from counter-terrorism officials.

The assailant was fatally shot by armed officers after he killed a Jewish man and caused serious harm to multiple other individuals during the attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Manchester's northern area last Thursday.

Two individuals, Adrian Daulby, 53 and Melvin Cravitz, 66, lost their lives in the attack. One of them succumbed to a bullet fired by officers targeting Shamie.

Counter-terrorism police and security services are working to uncover the attacker's background, with indications that he selected the holiest day in Judaism, the most sacred day in the Jewish calendar, to target worshippers.

Even though Shamie had not been flagged to anti-terror organizations or referred to the Prevent deradicalization program, he had been prosecuted for prior crimes.

It remains unclear when the alleged sexual assault took place, but the suspect had been bailed while under investigation by Greater Manchester police.

One source stated that he possessed other prior offenses, though for minor infractions with no connection to terrorism.

“No one suspected him of terrorism but he definitely had a criminal record, though no indication he was going to do anything like this,” an informant remarked.

Authorities are examining whether Shamie sent a threatening message to a former Conservative MP in 2012.

The email 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 left his position as MP for Henley in 2024, said he was unsure if it was the identical individual and believed that authorities had not taken the threat against his life with adequate seriousness at the time.

A news report from that year suggested that he 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 warped perspective of life, to make an attempt to act on it.” He added that Thames Valley police had given him “highly effective security advice.”

Law enforcement have yet to verify whether the “Jihad Alshamie” who contacted the former MP is the same individual who carried out the assault on the synagogue, but they are investigating a potential connection.

Shabana Mahmood, Shabana Mahmood, stated that the attacker was not under active investigation by anti-terror units or intelligence services when the incident. They had no reason to think he had previously been on their watchlist, though inquiries were still ongoing.