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The suspect who carried out the violent assault at a Manchester synagogue was free on bail from authorities in connection with an accusation of sexual assault at the time, as per reports.

Jihad al-Shamie, aged 35, was being probed for the reported sexual assault that is said to have happened earlier this year.

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

The assailant was fatally shot by responding police following the murder of a Jewish man and caused serious harm to several other people during the attack at the Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester's northern area last Thursday.

Two individuals, Adrian Daulby, 53 and Melvin Cravitz, 66, died during the incident. One victim succumbed to a round discharged by armed police targeting Shamie.

Counter-terrorism police and intelligence agencies are currently investigating the assailant's history, as it is believed that he chose 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 referred to the Prevent deradicalization program, he had been prosecuted for criminal offenses.

It remains unclear when the alleged sexual assault took place, but Shamie had been bailed while under investigation by local law enforcement.

An insider stated that he possessed other criminal convictions, albeit for minor infractions with no connection to terrorism.

“No one suspected him of 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 was behind a death threat to a ex-Member of Parliament in the year 2012.

A message to the former MP was sent by someone calling themselves “Jihad Alshamie” and stated, “It is people like you who deserve to die.”

Howell, who stepped down as Henley's representative in 2024, said he was unsure if it was the identical individual and felt that authorities had not taken the death threat with adequate seriousness at the time.

Media coverage from 2012 suggested that Howell may have been singled out 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 threat when it says, ‘I would like to see you dead,’” the former MP said in 2012, according to coverage 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 local police had provided him with “highly effective security advice.”

Police have not confirmed whether the “Jihad Alshamie” who messaged the former MP is the identical person who carried out the synagogue attack, but they are exploring a possible link.

The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, stated that Shamie was not under ongoing scrutiny by counter-terrorism police or intelligence services at the time of the incident. They did not believe he had ever been on their radar, although inquiries were still ongoing.