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The suspect responsible for the violent assault at a Jewish house of worship in Manchester had been released on police bail in connection with an alleged rape at the time, according to reports.

Jihad al-Shamie, aged 35, was being probed over an alleged sex crime that reportedly occurred in recent months.

The attacker, of Syrian origin, is believed to have previous criminal convictions, though he had not drawn attention from counter-terrorism officials.

Shamie was killed by police gunfire 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 Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Manchester's northern area on Thursday.

Two men, Adrian Daulby, 53 and Melvin Cravitz, 66, lost their lives during the incident. One victim succumbed to a round discharged by armed police aimed at Shamie.

Counter-terrorism police and security services are currently investigating the assailant's history, with indications that he chose the holiest day in Judaism, the highest holy day in the Jewish year, to attack those praying.

Even though the attacker had not been flagged to anti-terror organizations or enrolled in the anti-radicalisation scheme Prevent, he had been prosecuted for prior crimes.

It remains unclear when the alleged sexual assault occurred, but Shamie had been bailed while being investigated by local law enforcement.

One source indicated that he had additional criminal convictions, albeit for less serious crimes with no connection to terrorism.

“He was on nobody’s radar for terrorism but he definitely had a history of crime, though no indication he was going to do such an extreme act,” an informant remarked.

Authorities are looking into whether the attacker was behind a death threat to a former Conservative MP in 2012.

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

The former MP, who stepped down as MP for Henley 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.

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 menacing message when it says, ‘I would like to see you dead,’” the former MP remarked at the time, according to 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 unstable enough, with a warped perspective of life, to make an attempt to carry this out.” He noted that local police had given him “highly effective security advice.”

Law enforcement have yet to verify whether the “Jihad Alshamie” who messaged Howell is the same individual who committed the assault on the synagogue, but they are exploring a possible link.

The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said that the attacker was not under ongoing scrutiny by counter-terrorism police or intelligence services at the time of the incident. They did not believe he had previously been on their radar, although investigations were continuing.