UK synagogue attacker was under investigation for rape; his dad praised Hamas for Oct. 7

The terrorist who attacked a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur was on bail for alleged rape, UK media reported Friday, as resurfaced Facebook posts showed his father, who has condemned the attack, lauding the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023.

In what appeared to be the first statement linking the deadly attack to the war in Gaza, one eyewitness also told the UK’s ITV News that the attacker, Jihad al-Shamie, shouted “this is what they get for killing our children” as he tried to enter the Heaton Park Congregation on Yom Kippur.

The reports came amid a vigil near the site of the terror attack, where UK Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister David Lammy was jeered by audience members demanding the government shut down pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protests.

Local residents Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, were killed and three people were seriously wounded in the attack that took place on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.

Shamie, a 35-year-old Syrian-born UK citizen, was fatally shot as he tried to force his way into the synagogue. Daulby was apparently accidentally shot dead by law enforcement as he helped barricade the door, police said, applauding his heroism.

According to UK media, Shamie was under investigation for a rape thought to have occurred earlier this year, and was out on bail when he carried out the attack.

A source cited by The Guardian said Shamie had several lesser criminal convictions unrelated to terrorism. Another source said he was “on nobody’s radar for terrorism but he definitely had a criminal record.”

UK police are also investigating if Shamie was behind a death threat sent in 2012 to then-Conservative MP John Howell, The Guardian said.

Howell reportedly received an email signed “Jihad Alshamie” that said, “It is people like you who deserve to die.” The former lawmaker said he believes he was threatened due to his pro-Israel views.

Father condemns attack, praised Hamas on Oct. 7

Shamie’s family condemned his “heinous” attack on the synagogue, which they said left them in “profound shock.”

“The news from Manchester regarding the terrorist attack targeting a Jewish synagogue has been a profound shock to us,” wrote father, Faraj al-Shamie, on Facebook. “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,” he wrote. “May God have mercy on the innocent victims, and we pray for the swift recovery of the injured.”

Faraj Al-Shamie, father of the suspect in a deadly terror attack at a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur, October 2, 2025, seen in a video while working as a trauma surgeon in South Sudan nine years earlier. (Youtube screenshot)

Hours afterward, UK newspaper The Times uncovered Facebook posts by the terrorist’s surgeon father calling for Israel’s destruction and applauding Hamas’s invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza. Amid the war, Jews worldwide have experienced a sharp uptick in antisemitic attacks.

In a post from the day of the Hamas onslaught, Shamie hailed the terrorists invading Israel by land and air as “God’s men on earth,” adding that they “prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Israel will not remain.”

In a post three days later, he called on Hamas to “release the elderly and children. What you have done so far is a miracle by all standards. Do not harm them in a moment of anger. They have no place in war.”

“May God grant you victory, support you, and guide you to the right path in a battle that history will record as the beginning of the liberation of Al-Aqsa, God willing,” he added.

Members of the Armed Forces work by a bomb disposal van as they prepare a Harris T7 Multi-Mission Robot inside a police cordon at Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall, north Manchester, on October 2, 2025 (Oli SCARFF / AFP)

While expressing criticism of the Islamic Republic, he also celebrated Iran’s deadly missile strikes on Israel during the two countries’ 12-day war in June, writing alongside footage of impact sites, “We are waiting for more,” and “your goods are being returned to you.”

Shamie’s posts show that he has worked as a trauma surgeon in war zones, including in South Sudan during the civil war there, the Times noted.

Victim was a ‘hero,’ family says

Greater Manchester Police on Friday praised Daulby for his heroic actions after he was apparently accidentally shot dead by police while barricading the synagogue door during the attack.

An earlier statement had said one of the worshippers was apparently shot dead by law enforcement, but did not identify the victim.

“Adrian was one of the brave worshippers attending the synagogue at the time of the incident and prevented the attacker from gaining access to the premises,” police said in a later statement. “It is currently believed that Adrian’s injury may sadly have been sustained as a tragic and unforeseen consequence of the urgently required action taken by our officers to bring a vicious attack to an end.”

Daulby’s family said in the statement that he “was a hero and tragically lost his life in the act of courage to save others.”

Flowers and messages of condolence are pictured by a Police cordon on the main road outside Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall, north Manchester, on October 3, 2025, following a deadly terror attack at the synagogue (Paul Currie / AFP)

“He was a beloved brother, loving uncle to his four nieces and one nephew and a cherished cousin. 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,” the family said.

Alan Levy, head of the Heaton Park Congregation’s board of trustees, told ITV News that he was one of the congregants who helped barricade the synagogue along with Daulby.

Alan Levy is the chair of trustees at the Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester, where two people were killed in a terror attack on Thursday.

He told us how he ran to alert worshippers, blockading the door shut as the Al Shamie kept trying to force his way in. pic.twitter.com/famNrbfXmY

— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) October 3, 2025

Levy recalled hearing the attacker shouting, “This is what they get for killing our children” as he tried to break down the door.

Shamie was holding “a big knife, banging his knife into the glass, trying to get through” the door, said Levy.

“Our children aren’t safe in schools; we have to have guards. Our people are not safe at the synagogue going to pray on the holiest day of our year,” he said, adding: “We’ve been overwhelmed by the local community, Jewish and non-Jewish, who’ve offered help and support to us in this time.”

Members of the community comfort each other near Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall, north Manchester, on October 2, 2025, following a deadly terrorist attack at the synagogue. (Paul Currie / AFP)

Following the attack, he said, “We carried on our service at the police station when we went to give our statements.”

“We will be carrying on our services at another venue, and we’re going to carry on,” said Levy. “We’re going to be strong, and we’re not going to let this defeat us in any way.”

Synagogue Rabbi Daniel Walker, who also helped barricade the door, told ITV: “Half an hour into the prayers, I heard an almighty bang from outside, shouting. Someone was trying to get in with a knife.”

“When he tried to get inside the synagogue, there was a large number of us trying to hold him off,” Walker said.

He said Shamie was “shouting threats” as he tried to burst into the synagogue, where the community was gathered for Yom Kippur services to mark the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.

Shamie was not successful in his attempt to force his way into the building, which Walker attributed to “the very, very brave men, security guard and volunteer [who] stopped him and blocked him literally with their bodies and are still in hospital.

Rabbi Daniel Walker (3L) stands among armed police officers as they talk with members of the Jewish community outside Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall, north Manchester, on October 2, 2025, following a deadly terrorist attack at the synagogue. (Paul Currie / AFP)

Daulby “defended the synagogue with his life,” said Walker.

Asked by ITV about whether the war in Gaza has impacted day-to-day life in his community, Walker confirmed that they have “been feeling much less secure.”

Still, he said, “I didn’t think it would actually become something physical.”

Lammy jeered over Palestine rallies

Meanwhile, former UK foreign minister Lammy was jeered as he vowed at the vigil outside the synagogue on Friday to “stand in defiance of those terrorists who seek to divide us.”

The Guardian reported that audience members call out “shame on you,” “go to Palestine, leave us alone,” “you’ve allowed it to grow on the campuses” and “you have blood on your hands” at Lammy as he took the stage.

At least one audience member turned her back to Lammy as he spoke, according to the outlet.

???????? WATCH: Deputy PM David Lammy is heckled while speaking a vigil outside the Manchester synagogue

“You enabled it, every Saturday [Gaza protests in London]”

“Empty words, we want action” pic.twitter.com/1eoZrMC34w

— Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) October 3, 2025

One former congregant, Joanne Lazarus, 61, was quoted telling the PA news agency she didn’t think Lammy would care about the response he received.

She said she “can’t take” weekly pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protests and wants the government to shut them down.

“I can’t take these marches every single Saturday,” she said. “I’ve been into town on a Saturday and have been told I’m a baby killer and to ‘go home’.”

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria, who is Jewish, visited the site of the attack in the morning. They could be seen shaking hands with emergency responders outside the synagogue, a day after the premier vowed to “do everything in my power” to protect Jews in Britain.

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria arrive to meet emergency workers near Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Manchester, England, October 3, 2025, where two people were killed in a terror attack on Thursday. (AP Photo/Ian Hodgson)

UK Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper also initiated a call with her Israeli counterpart Gideon Sa’ar on Friday following the terror attack in Manchester, according to Sa’ar.

“I said that this is a decisive moment in the UK’s own history, for preserving its character, and it requires relentlessly combating the poisonous antisemitic movement,” Sa’ar wrote on X. “I raised the need to fight the pro-Palestinian marches and protests, which bear antisemitic traits, and at times include explicit support for terror.”

Cooper said in the call that her Labour Party’s recent decision to recognize Israel’s war in Gaza as a genocide does not “reflect the government’s policy and the government dismissed them,” according to an Israeli readout.

Nurit Yohanan contributed to this report.