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The individual responsible for the deadly attack at a Jewish house of worship in Manchester had been released on police bail in connection with an accusation of sexual assault at the time, as per available information.

The attacker, Jihad al-Shamie, aged 35, was being probed for the reported sexual assault that is said to have happened in recent months.

Al-Shamie, who was born in Syria, is also thought to have a record of criminal offenses, however he was not being monitored from counter-terrorism officials.

Shamie was killed by police gunfire by responding police following the murder of a member of the Jewish community and severely injured multiple other individuals during the attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Manchester's northern area on Thursday.

Two individuals, Adrian Daulby, 53 and 66-year-old Melvin Cravitz, died during the incident. One of them was fatally hit a bullet fired by armed police targeting the attacker.

Anti-terror units and intelligence agencies are currently investigating the assailant's history, with indications that he selected Yom Kippur, the highest holy day in the Jewish year, to attack those praying.

Even though Shamie had not been flagged to counter-terrorism agencies or enrolled in the Prevent deradicalization program, he had been prosecuted for prior crimes.

The exact timing the alleged sexual assault took place, but the suspect had been bailed while under investigation by Greater Manchester police.

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

“He was on nobody’s radar for terrorism but he certainly possessed a history of crime, though no indication 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.

A message to John Howell came from someone identifying as “Jihad Alshamie” and stated, “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 same person and believed that police had not taken the threat against his life seriously enough at the time.

Media coverage from that year indicated that he was likely targeted due to his support for Israel.

“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,’” the former MP remarked at the time, in reports 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 local police had given him “extremely good security advice.”

Police have not confirmed whether the “Jihad Alshamie” who messaged the former MP is the same individual who carried out the assault on the synagogue, but they are investigating a possible link.

Shabana Mahmood, Shabana Mahmood, said that Shamie was not under ongoing scrutiny by anti-terror units or intelligence services at the time of the attack. They did not believe he had previously been on their watchlist, although investigations were still ongoing.