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The individual responsible for the deadly attack at a Jewish house of worship in Manchester had been released on bail from authorities related to an alleged rape when the incident took place, as per reports.

The attacker, Jihad al-Shamie, who was 35 years old, was being probed for the reported sexual assault that reportedly occurred earlier this year.

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

The assailant was killed by police gunfire by armed officers following the murder of a member of the Jewish community and severely injured multiple other individuals during the assault on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in north Manchester last Thursday.

Two individuals, 53-year-old Adrian Daulby and 66-year-old Melvin Cravitz, lost their lives in the attack. One of them succumbed to a bullet fired by officers targeting the attacker.

Anti-terror units and security services are working to uncover the assailant's history, as it is believed that he selected the holiest day in Judaism, the highest holy day in the Jewish year, to target worshippers.

Although Shamie was not known to anti-terror organizations or enrolled in the Prevent deradicalization program, he had faced prosecution for criminal offenses.

The exact timing the alleged sexual assault occurred, but the suspect had been bailed while under investigation by Greater Manchester police.

One source stated that he possessed other criminal convictions, though for minor infractions with no connection to terrorism.

“He was on nobody’s radar for terrorism but he definitely had a criminal record, though nothing to suggest he was going to do anything like this,” said one source.

Police are examining whether the attacker was behind a death threat to a former Conservative MP in 2012.

A message to the former MP was sent by someone identifying as “Jihad Alshamie” and stated, “It is people like you who deserve to die.”

The former MP, who left his position as MP for Henley in 2024, expressed uncertainty if it was the identical individual and believed that police did not treat the threat against his life with adequate seriousness back then.

A news report from that year indicated that Howell 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 threat when it says, ‘I would like to see you dead,’” the former MP said in 2012, according to reports by the Jerusalem Post.

“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 weird enough, with a warped perspective of life, to make an attempt to carry this out.” He noted that Thames Valley police had provided him with “extremely good security advice.”

Police have yet to verify whether the “Jihad Alshamie” who contacted Howell is the same individual who carried out the assault on the synagogue, but they are exploring a possible link.

The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, stated that the attacker was not under active investigation by counter-terrorism police or intelligence services when the attack. They did not believe he had ever been on their watchlist, though investigations were still ongoing.