The owner of a pizza shop says he is "still in shock" after learning a former employee was the man who detonated a bomb outside Liverpool Women's Hospital.
Emad Al-Swealmeen, 32, was in the back of a taxi which exploded outside the front entrance of the Crown Street maternity hospital just before 11am on Sunday.
Today it emerged that around six years ago Al-Swealmeen was a respected and unassuming pizza chef at a takeaway in Sefton.
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The owner of the take-away shop says he was forced to close last night after hearing rumours that a "gang of thugs" were planning to launch an attack due to its connection with Al-Swealmeen.
Counter Terror police say Al-Swealmeen, who had been in the UK since 2014, had been planning the attack since around April this year and built the device at a house in Rutland Avenue, near Sefton Park.
The driver, David Perry, managed to leap from the vehicle seconds after the explosion before it was incinerated by flames.
The pizza shop owner, who did not wish to give his name, told the ECHO : "He worked a few months for me.
"He was a really nice guy, very polite, nice and respectful with the customers. At the time if I remember he was normal, there was nothing I can think of to say he could do such a thing.
"But it has happened. After he left he may have met other people, they brainwashed him, they used him, whatever they have done to the guy.
"I know he was born a Muslim but a lot of asylum seekers convert to Christianity and at the time he was going to church a lot, but to me I just employ anyone, I don't care about religion or race, I only care if they are polite with the customers.
"There was not anything wrong at the time. He was not a fanatic."
Speaking about the moment he learned the truth, the takeaway boss said: "I was in shock, I could not believe it.
"I'm still in shock to be honest."
He also told the ECHO he "could not remember" whether he had seen papers confirming Iraqi born Al-Swealmeen's right to work in the UK.
The restaurant owner also said rumours began to emerge last night that a "gang" were gathering and planned to "burn" his shop.
He said: "I decided to close straight away, you have to think about the safety of your staff."
An employee of the shop told the ECHO she had also seen rumours of a revenge attack.
She said: "There were a lot of Facebook rumours yesterday about it.
"I was working last night and the manager's dad rang telling us to get out now, we heard there were a gang of lads gathering by the Lidl and they were going to firebomb us.
"We put the shutters down straight away, we didn't take it for granted that nothing would happen after something like this."
"A complex picture is emerging over the purchases of the component parts of the device, we know that Al-Swealmeen rented the property from April this year and we believe relevant purchases have been made at least since that time.
"We have now traced a next of kin for Al-Swealmeen who has informed us that he was born in Iraq.
"Our enquiries have found that Al Swealmeen has had episodes of mental illness, this will form part of the investigation and will take some time to fully understand.
"There is much comment in the media about Al Swealmeen and it is clear that he was known to many people.
"We continue to appeal for people who knew him, especially those who associated with him this year as we try and piece together the events leading up to this incident and the reasons for it.
"At this time we are not finding any link to others in the Merseyside area of concern but this remains a fast moving investigation and as more becomes known we cannot rule out action against others."
