The father of Jihad al-Shamie, the man shot dead by police as he attacked a Manchester synagogue, has condemned his son’s “heinous act”.
Faraj al-Shamie, in a statement said to have been made on behalf of the wider family, said they wished to distance themselves from Thursday’s attack, during which two people were killed and three seriously injured.
He wrote: “The news from Manchester regarding the terrorist attack targeting a Jewish synagogue has been a profound shock to us.
“The al-Shamie family in the UK and abroad strongly condemns this heinous act, which targeted peaceful, innocent civilians. We fully distance ourselves from this attack and express our deep shock and sorrow over what has happened. Our hearts and thoughts are with the victims and their families, and we pray for their strength and comfort.
“We kindly request that all media outlets respect the family’s privacy during this very difficult time and refrain from using this tragic event in any context that does not reflect the truth. May God have mercy on the innocent victims, and we pray for the swift recovery of the injured.”
Faraj al-Shamie has worked as an emergency trauma surgeon for several non-governmental organisations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, in conflict zones including South Sudan, Afghanistan and Mali.
He reportedly posted on his Facebook page in support of the October 7 attacks on Israel, claiming they had been perpetuated by “men of God on Earth” and describing the attacks as a “miracle by all standards”.
On Thursday morning, his 35-year-old son used a car to ram into the grounds of the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall, then attempted to stab worshippers in a six-minute rampage that ended only when armed officers shot at him twice, leaving him dead at the door of the temple.
Shamie was a British citizen of Syrian descent. Neighbours of Shamie’s in Prestwich, in Greater Manchester, said he had lived there since about 2021, and one recalled a baby at the address but could not recollect seeing a woman there.
One woman said: “We used to see him out in the garden working out, doing weights, press-ups. He used to change his clothes. One day he would be wearing the full gown, to the floor, and the next jeans [or] pyjama bottoms.”
Another said they believed that Shamie had initially lived with both parents and two younger brothers but that the father had moved out about six or seven years ago and would return in a car with a French number plate.
Shamie is understood to have worked as a tutor, teaching English and computer programming, but was listed as unemployed in government insolvency records which showed he turned to a debt relief order last September while living at the family home.
Just one month later, his father posted a picture of him with a newborn.
Geoff Haliwell, 72, said he saw the attacker once or twice a week and would exchange a hello or chitchat about the weather. “I didn’t even know his name,” he said. “He was just a straightforward, ordinary lad.”
Another neighbour described him as an unsociable character who parked his car “badly” outside her house, sometimes venturing out in his pyjamas and slip-on sandals.
Armed counter-terrorism officers swooped on the attacker’s semi-detached property shortly before 4.30pm on Thursday, about seven hours after the attack at a synagogue about 2 miles away.
Footage shared by neighbours shows heavily-armed officers in military fatigues preparing to raid the house with a chainsaw and a police dog. One carried two bulletproof shields. “They just came up the street shouting and screaming,” said one neighbour, Mike, who wanted only to give his first name. “They shouted ‘Get down’ … they were there for ages.”
The chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, the head of Orthodox Judaism in Britain, said on Friday that the attack was the result of “an unrelenting wave of Jew hatred” on the streets and online. “This is the day we hoped we would never see, but which deep down, we knew would come,” he wrote on social media.
The archbishop-designate of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, said the Church of England stood with the Jewish community against antisemitism. “We then, as a church, have a responsibility to be a people who stand with the Jewish community against antisemitism in all its forms,” she said on Friday, in her first speech since being named for the role.
The prime minister, Keir Starmer, and his wife, Victoria, visited the scene of the fatal attack on Friday morning, meeting police officers and viewing the flowers and tribute messages left on the street outside.
The Metropolitan police called for organisers to cancel a mass protest against the ban on Palestine Action planned for Saturday in London, saying their resources were stretched by the need to protect the Jewish community.
