The suspect connected to last week’s fatal car and knife attack near a synagogue in Manchester reportedly showed allegiance to the Islamic State, according to authorities.
Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, a British national with Syrian roots, is said to have contacted emergency services to claim the attack and then affirmed allegiance to the Islamic State.
“Following examinations across our systems, I confirm that Al-Shamie had no prior referrals to the Prevent program and was not known to Counter Terrorism Policing,” Assistant Chief Constable Rob Potts stated on Wednesday.
The Prevent program is a U.K. government effort designed to provide interventions for individuals at risk of radicalization to prevent them from engaging in or supporting terrorist activities.
Laurence Taylor, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing, mentioned on October 3 that although Al-Shamie was not on the counterterrorism radar, he was on bail during the attack, following an arrest on suspicion of rape.
Potts said that police are now “more confident that he was influenced by extreme Islamist ideology, the 999 call forms part of this assessment.”
While Potts highlighted the call as evidence of Al-Shamie’s intentions, he emphasized the necessity of reviewing all gathered evidence to fully understand the attack’s motive.
“This assessment continues, and there may be further drivers and motivations identified,” Potts added.
A police vehicle parked outside the Manchester synagogue, where multiple people were killed on Yom Kippur in what police have declared a terrorist incident, in north Manchester, Britain, on Oct. 5, 2025. (Hannah McKay/Reuters)
Al-Shamie was shot by police outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue after the attack in which he rammed a car into pedestrians before attacking them with a knife. The attacker was wearing what appeared to be an explosive device, but Potts called it a “hoax device” and said it was later assessed and confirmed to be “non-viable.”
Two congregants, identified as Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, died in the attack, which took place on Yom Kippur, Judaism’s holiest day.
Police later said that it was likely one of the two victims was accidentally shot by officers who were rushing to stop the attack, as Al-Shamie did not have a gun on him. Reports indicate Daulby was the one shot.
Emergency services on scene after a car and knife attack outside Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester, England, on Oct. 2, 2025. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)
Potts informed reporters on Wednesday that three people injured during the attack are still hospitalized.
While investigating whether Al-Shamie acted alone, police arrested three men and three women on suspicion of the “commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism,” The Associated Press reported.
The people arrested have not been identified and police have not revealed their ties, if any, to Al-Shamie. The AP reported that on Saturday a court gave police five more days to hold four of the suspects, while two, a man and a woman, were released without further action.
