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The suspect who carried out the violent assault at a Jewish house of worship in Manchester had been released on police bail in connection with an accusation of sexual assault when the incident took place, according to reports.

The attacker, Jihad al-Shamie, who was 35 years old, was under investigation over an alleged sex crime 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 anti-terror authorities.

Shamie was fatally shot by responding police 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 north Manchester on Thursday.

Two individuals, Adrian Daulby, 53 and Melvin Cravitz, 66, died in the attack. One victim was fatally hit a round discharged by armed police aimed at the attacker.

Counter-terrorism police and security services are currently investigating the attacker's background, with indications that he selected the holiest day in Judaism, the most sacred day in the Jewish year, to attack those praying.

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

The exact timing the reported rape occurred, but Shamie had been bailed while under investigation by local law enforcement.

One source stated that he possessed other criminal convictions, albeit for minor infractions with no connection 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 such an extreme act,” said one source.

Authorities are looking into whether Shamie sent a death threat to a ex-Member of Parliament in the year 2012.

A message to the former MP was sent by someone identifying as “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 same person and felt that authorities did not treat the death threat seriously enough at the time.

A news report from that year suggested that he may have been singled out due to his pro-Israel stance.

“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,’” Howell remarked at the time, in coverage 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 weird enough, with a distorted view of life, to make an attempt to carry this out.” He added that Thames Valley police had given him “highly effective security advice.”

Law enforcement have not confirmed whether the “Jihad Alshamie” who messaged Howell is the identical person who committed the synagogue attack, but they are exploring a possible link.

Shabana Mahmood, Shabana Mahmood, said that the attacker was not under active investigation by counter-terrorism police or intelligence services at the time of the attack. They had no reason to think he had ever been on their radar, though investigations were still ongoing.