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The individual who carried out the violent assault at a Manchester synagogue was free on bail from authorities related to an alleged rape at the time, according to available information.

The attacker, Jihad al-Shamie, who was 35 years old, was being probed over an alleged sexual assault that is said to have happened in recent months.

Al-Shamie, of Syrian origin, is believed to have a record of criminal offenses, however he had not drawn attention from counter-terrorism officials.

Shamie was fatally shot by responding police 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 Manchester's northern area last Thursday.

Two individuals, Adrian Daulby, 53 and Melvin Cravitz, 66, lost their lives in the attack. One of them was fatally hit a round discharged by armed police targeting Shamie.

Counter-terrorism police and security services are working to uncover the assailant's history, with indications that he selected Yom Kippur, the most sacred day in the Jewish year, to target worshippers.

Although 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 the suspect was on bail while being investigated by local law enforcement.

An insider indicated that he possessed other prior offenses, though for minor infractions unrelated to terrorist activities.

“He was on nobody’s radar for terrorism but he definitely had a history of crime, though nothing to suggest he was going to do such an extreme act,” said one source.

Authorities are examining whether the attacker sent a death threat to a ex-Member of Parliament in 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 left his position as Henley's representative in 2024, expressed uncertainty if it was the identical individual and felt that authorities had not taken the threat against his life with adequate seriousness back then.

A news report from that year indicated that he may have been singled out 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,’” the former MP said in 2012, 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 unstable enough, with a distorted view of life, to make an attempt to carry this out.” He noted that local police had provided him with “highly effective security advice.”

Police have not confirmed whether the “Jihad Alshamie” who messaged Howell is the identical person who committed the synagogue attack, but they are investigating a potential connection.

Shabana Mahmood, Shabana Mahmood, stated that Shamie was not under active investigation by counter-terrorism police or security agencies at the time of the attack. They had no reason to think he had ever been on their radar, although investigations were still ongoing.