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The individual responsible for the violent assault at a Manchester synagogue had been released on bail from authorities related to an alleged rape at the time, as per available information.

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

The attacker, who was born in Syria, is believed to have previous criminal convictions, however he had not drawn attention from anti-terror authorities.

Shamie was killed by police gunfire by armed officers following the murder of a Jewish man and caused serious harm to several other people during the assault on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Manchester's northern area on Thursday.

Two men, 53-year-old Adrian Daulby and 66-year-old Melvin Cravitz, died in the attack. One of them succumbed to a round discharged by officers targeting Shamie.

Anti-terror units and intelligence agencies are currently investigating the assailant's history, with indications that he selected the holiest day in Judaism, the highest holy day in the Jewish calendar, to target worshippers.

Even though the attacker had not been flagged to counter-terrorism agencies or enrolled in the anti-radicalisation scheme Prevent, he had faced prosecution for criminal offenses.

The exact timing the alleged sexual assault occurred, but Shamie had been bailed while being investigated by Greater Manchester police.

An insider indicated that he had additional prior offenses, though for less serious crimes unrelated to terrorist activities.

“No one suspected him of terrorism but he certainly possessed a history of crime, though nothing to suggest he was going to do anything like this,” said one source.

Police are examining whether the attacker sent a threatening message to a former Conservative MP in the year 2012.

The email to John Howell was sent by someone identifying as “Jihad Alshamie” and said, “It is people like you who deserve to die.”

Howell, who left his position as Henley's representative in 2024, said he was unsure if it was the same person and felt that authorities did not treat the death threat with adequate seriousness back then.

Media coverage from 2012 indicated 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 menacing message 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 distorted view of life, to make an attempt to carry this out.” He noted that Thames Valley police had given him “extremely good security advice.”

Law enforcement have yet to verify whether the “Jihad Alshamie” who messaged the former MP is the same individual who committed the synagogue attack, but they are exploring a potential connection.

The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, stated that the attacker was not under ongoing scrutiny by anti-terror units or security agencies when the incident. They had no reason to think he had ever been on their watchlist, though investigations were still ongoing.