Terrorist Jihad Al-Shamie was on police bail for an alleged rape when he carried out the Manchester synagogue attack, sources said.
Al-Shamie, 35, was also struggling with debt after splitting up with his wife and young son before the rampage.
He had been investigated by officers in relation to the serious sexual assault alleged to have taken place earlier this year.
One of the two victims of the Manchester synagogue attack was shot by police as they tackled the terrorist, it has been revealed.
Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, died after Jihad Al-Shamie drove into a group of people outside Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue before stabbing a man.
Three others remain in hospital with serious injuries.
Al-Shamie, 35, was shot dead by police seven minutes after officers were alerted to the attack in Crumpsall on Thursday morning, which took place on Yom Kippur, Judaism’s holiest day.
Relatives of Al-Shamie, who was a British citizen of Syrian descent, said they “condemn” his “heinous act”.
A post on Facebook on Friday, appearing to be from his family, reads: “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.”
The statement was signed by Faraj Al-Shamie, on behalf of the Al-Shamie Family.
During a vigil for the victims, the Justice Secretary David Lammy was booed by some of the crowd with shouts of “shame on you” and “go to Palestine, leave us alone”.
In his address, Lammy said “that is why we stand in defiance of those terrorists who seek to divide us”.
There were shouts from attendees, and one man could be heard saying “you enabled it, every Saturday”.
In a statement issued shortly after 11am on Friday morning, Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson revealed that one of the two victims had suffered a gunshot wound.
He said: “Following the terrorist incident yesterday at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation, Middleton Road, Crumpsall; further and urgent enquiries continue. Overnight, we have taken advice from the Home Office Pathologist ahead of full post mortem examinations scheduled for later today.
“The Home Office Pathologist has advised that he has provisionally determined, that one of the deceased victims would appear to have suffered a wound consistent with a gunshot injury.
“It is currently believed that the suspect, Jihad Al Shamie, was not in possession of a firearm and the only shots fired were from GMP's Authorised Firearms Officers as they worked to prevent the offender from entering the synagogue and causing further harm to our Jewish community. It follows therefore, that subject to further forensic examination, this injury may sadly have been sustained as a tragic and unforeseen consequence of the urgently required action taken by my officers to bring this vicious attack to an end.
#UPDATE | Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson has provided an update following yesterday’s tragic incident on Middleton Road in Crumpsall. pic.twitter.com/VWTpOE4KG3
— Greater Manchester Police (@gmpolice) October 3, 2025
“We have also been advised by medical professionals that one of the three victims currently receiving treatment in hospital, has also suffered a gunshot wound, which is mercifully not life threatening. It is believed that both victims were close together behind the synagogue door, as worshippers acted bravely to prevent the attacker from gaining entry.
“Our thoughts and prayers remain with all of the families, and the wider community, impacted by this incident across Greater Manchester and beyond. Specialist officers are providing support and care for all of those directly affected, including our brave first responders.”
Three people have been arrested on suspicion of planning a terror attack in connection with the killings.
MI5 and the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre are analysing whether to increase the national terror threat from “substantial” following the attack.
Greater Manchester Police said while formal identification is yet to take place, the families of Mr Daulby and Mr Cravitz, both from Crumpsall, have been informed and offered support by family liaison officers.
On Friday morning, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed extra officers would provide a “high visibility” presence in North Manchester, Bury, and Salford within Jewish communities and around synagogues.
There will also be increased visits to local places of worship, police added.
Al-Shamie, who was shot dead by police seven minutes after officers were alerted to the attack in Crumpsall, Greater Manchester, on Thursday morning. was a British citizen of Syrian descent.
The 35-year-old is understood to have entered the UK as a young child and been granted British citizenship in 2006 when he was around the age of 16.
It is understood his name has not appeared in initial searches of police and security service records, and he is not thought to have been under investigation.
It is "too early" to say if there was a terrorist cell behind the attack on Greater Manchester, the Home Secretary said.
Shabana Mahmood also told BBC Breakfast: "Arrests have been made and the police investigation is continuing at pace.
"We will, of course, provide more information as that comes in from the police, but I think it's important we don't get ahead of what we know as the basic facts of what has happened."
The force said two men in their 30s and a woman in her 60s were arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism.
It is understood that Al-Shamie’s name has not appeared in initial searches of police and security service records, and he is not thought to have been under investigation.
GMP said officers were “working to understand the motivation behind the attack” and confirmed the killer had not been referred to the Government’s Prevent anti-radicalisation scheme.
Former Tory MP John Howell, 70, received a barrage of threatening emails in 2012 - one of which was from a "Jihad Alshamie".
According to The Times, The letter read: "It is people like you who deserve to die."
Al-Shamie appears to have lived in Prestwich, around two miles from the scene.
His name is linked to a property in the town and a neighbour recognised his face from photographs of the synagogue attacker.
She told The Telegraph: "He lived there 10 years, with no wife or kids that I could see. He never seemed to speak to anyone around here."
Police were stood at a cordon restricting access to the street where he lived. Neighbours described armed police arriving at his home, believed to be three-bed end-terrace council property, on Thursday afternoon. Forensic officers were seen arriving at the property on Friday morning.
The Home Secretary said she was “surprised” by this name, which LBC presenter Nick Ferrari translated as “struggle of the Syrian”.
She told the broadcaster: “I was very surprised to discover that name myself.
“Actually, as a Muslim, I’ve never heard someone being called Jihad, but it is the name that he was born with – that has always been his name.”
A dramatic picture of Al-Shamie shows the moment he stood outside the synagogue with unidentified objects strapped to his waist, initially thought to be an explosive device which police later said was not viable.
Three men remain in hospital with serious injuries after Al-Shamie - who is yet to be formally identified - rammed into people with a car before stabbing a man outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue.
Among the men in hospital, one was stabbed and a second was hit by the car.
A third man “presented himself at hospital with an injury that may have been sustained as officers stopped the attacker”, police said.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer visited an unnamed synagogue on Thursday evening after he vowed to do “everything in my power” to protect Jewish communities in the UK.
Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis said the terror attack was the “tragic result” of an “unrelenting wave of Jew hatred on our streets, campuses, on social media and elsewhere”.
He added: “This is the day we hoped we would never see, but which deep down, we knew would come.”
GMP Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson praised the “immediate bravery” of security staff and worshippers who shut the attacker out during what Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham described as a “horrific antisemitic attack”.
Sir Stephen said: “There were a large number of worshippers attending the synagogue at the time of this attack, but thanks to the immediate bravery of security staff and the worshippers inside, as well as the fast response of the police, the attacker was prevented from gaining access.”
Former Tory minister Sir Grant Shapps told The Times that his father-in-law, Michael Goldstone, came “face-to-face” with Al-Shamie from inside the synagogue, where he is a member of the congregation.
Sir Grant told the newspaper: “”He was face-to-face with the terrorist, holding the inside of the door, as he tried to break down the front doors.
“The chap had turned up 10 minutes earlier before the car came back and smashed into the security.
“They locked the doors when the car crashed into the gate, which prevented more killings.”
Speaking from Downing Street after a Cobra emergency committee meeting, Sir Keir condemned the “terrorist attack that attacked Jews because they are Jews”, which he said had been committed by “a vile individual”.
Addressing the Jewish community in the UK, he said: “I promise you that I will do everything in my power to guarantee you the security that you deserve, starting with a more visible police presence, protecting your community.”
Sir Keir said “additional police assets” would be deployed at synagogues across the country.
Elsewhere 40 people were arrested in Whitehall on Thursday evening during a protest organised by the Global Movement for Gaza UK, Scotland Yard said.
The Home Secretary condemned the Pro-Palestine marches as "dishonourable" and "fundamentally un-British", as they took place in the wake of the terror attack.
Ms Mahmood called for demonstrators to "step back" from plans to hold marches in coming days, claiming this would show "some love and some solidarity" with Britain's Jewish community following the attack.
The Met has written to protest group Defend Our Juries, which plans to hold a march in central London on Saturday, asking that it does not go ahead.
More than 1,500 people so far have pledged to take part in the event in Trafalgar Square, which aims to be “the biggest ever mass action yet defying the ban on Palestine Action”.
A letter from the force shared by Defend Our Juries raised concerns about the amount of police resources the protest would divert at a time when "visible reassurance and protective security" is needed in communities across London.
But the protest group, which has led demonstrations against the terrorist ban on Palestine Action, said it planned to go ahead with the march.
Ms Mahmood told GB News: "As far as I am concerned, I would have wanted to see people in this country step back from protesting for at least a few days, just to give the Jewish community here a chance to process what has happened and to begin the grieving process as well.
"I am very disappointed that some of the organisers haven't heeded the call to step back.
"I would still call on people to show some love and some solidarity to the families of those who have been murdered and to our Jewish community."
