The perpetrator of the terrorist attack at a British synagogue this week was under investigation for rape and had been released on bail by the police, according to an official with knowledge of the investigation.
Jihad al-Shamie, 35, had convictions for past crimes that were unrelated to terrorism, according to the official at Greater Manchester Police, who was not authorized to speak publicly about an active investigation. The details about his criminal background were first reported by The Guardian.
On Thursday, the assailant rammed his car into people outside the synagogue, Heaton Park Congregation, in Manchester, England, and then went on a stabbing spree before being shot dead by the police while trying to enter the building.
Two other men were killed, including one who was accidentally struck by a police bullet, and three others were injured and remain hospitalized. The attack, which came on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, has added to fears about the safety of Jews around the world amid rising antisemitism.
Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, died from injuries sustained during the assault. The police named Mr. Daulby as the person who was fatally struck by an officer’s bullet. They said Mr. Cravitz was killed by the attacker, but did not say how.
Mr. Daulby had been standing inside the synagogue’s doors and was among the worshipers “who prevented the attacker from gaining access,” Greater Manchester Police said in a statement. The police said that Mr. Daulby had been standing near another person who was also struck by a police bullet. That person survived and was taken to hospital.
The investigation into Mr. al-Shamie’s background and motivations was ongoing on Friday, and the police official did not give details of his past convictions, or of the open investigation into a reported rape.
In a previous statement, Greater Manchester Police said Mr. al-Shamie, a British citizen of Syrian descent, had not been referred to them as a potential terror threat under Prevent, Britain’s official counter-radicalization program.
He was not under investigation by the security services and had not been named as a “subject of interest” in their systems, the authorities said, but intelligence officials have not ruled out the possibility that a connection could emerge with other people on their radar.
A person using the name “Jihad Alshamie” sent threats to a Conservative member of Parliament in 2012, in relation to the politician’s public defense of Israel’s military action in Gaza. John Howell, the lawmaker, who has since retired, said at the time that one email said: “It is people like you who deserve to die.”
Police have not yet confirmed whether the person who sent those messages was the same man who launched Thursday’s attack.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct, Britain’s national police watchdog, said it had gathered evidence from the scene of the attack and had supervised post-mortem examinations that took place on Friday.
The watchdog said in a statement that it initially launched an investigation into the shooting of the attacker, which is standard for all fatal police shootings in Britain. If wrongdoing is found, the watchdog can refer police officers for disciplinary action or criminal prosecution.
In a tribute to Mr. Daulby, his family called him a “hero” and said: “The family is shocked by the tragic, sudden death of such a lovely down to earth man. His final act was one of profound courage and he will forever be remembered for his heroic act.”
Mr. Cravitz was working as a security guard at the synagogue at the time of the attack, the police said. In a statement, his family said Mr. Cravitz “would do anything to help anyone.”
“He was so kind, caring and always wanted to chat and get to know people,” it said. “He will be sorely missed by his wife, family, friends and community.”
The assailant’s father, Faraj al-Shamie, posted a statement from the family on his Facebook page on Friday condemning the attack and saying it was a “profound shock” to relatives.
“The al-Shamie family in the U.K. and abroad strongly condemns this heinous act, which targeted peaceful, innocent civilians,” the statement said.
“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 police have not formally commented on the attacker’s motives, but Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain said in an address to the nation on Thursday night that the man had “attacked Jews because they are Jews.”
Mr. Starmer, whose wife is Jewish, said that while antisemitism was not new, “it is a hatred that is rising once again, and Britain must defeat it once again.” On Friday, he visited the scene and was photographed meeting police officers.
Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, told the BBC on Friday morning that the attacker had arrived in Britain as a child with his family and had been granted British citizenship in 2006.
The attacker’s home in Prestwich, a Manchester suburb about two miles from the scene of the attack, was being searched by officers on Friday, along with another house a short walk away from the synagogue.
The police on Thursday arrested three people on suspicion of commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism, as a result of their investigation into the attack. They did not name the suspects, who were being held in custody, but said that they were two men in their 30s and a woman in her 60s.
Extra patrols were being sent across Manchester to reassure communities, the police said, with a “high-visibility presence” around synagogues. On Friday, the government criticized a decision by pro-Palestinian activists to go ahead with a planned demonstration on Saturday in London, despite a police request to postpone the event on the grounds that it would divert their resources.
Ms. Mahmood told the BBC that the behavior of the organizers was “unacceptable,” adding that while Britons had the right to protest, “just because you have a freedom doesn’t mean to say you have to use it at every moment.”
“Sometimes an act of kindness and stepping back, I think, can do more to hold our country together,” she said.
Defend Our Juries, the group that organized the protest, said in a letter to the police that it condemned the attack in Manchester but that it was the force’s “choice” to arrest hundreds of people for holding signs expressing support for Palestine Action. They blamed the government’s decision to ban Palestine Action, a protest group which has targeted Israel-linked defense companies and vandalized two military planes, as a terrorist organization and said it had created an “unnecessary strain on police resources.”
In an interview with the BBC on Friday morning, Ephraim Mirvis, Britain’s chief rabbi, described the shock and horror of the Jewish community as it learned about the attack, saying, “Our hearts are shattered.” He added: “What transpired yesterday was an awful blow to us, something which actually we were fearing might happen because of the buildup to this action.”
He criticized both the recent demonstrations in support of Palestine Action, as well as the regular pro-Palestinian marches, which are organized by a different group, against Israel’s war in Gaza that have taken place in London for almost two years.
The Palestinian ambassador to Britain, Husam Zomlot, offered his condolences to the victims and their families in a statement condemning the “heinous attack.”
“No one should ever feel unsafe in their home or at their place of worship,” he said. “Violence against civilians must be condemned without hesitation or exception.”
Stephen Castle is a London correspondent of The Times, writing widely about Britain, its politics and the country’s relationship with Europe.
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