Family of Manchester synagogue attacker Jihad Al-Shamie issues new statement

The family of a man who went on a knife rampage at a synagogue before he was shot dead by police has issued a statement.

Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, was named as the attacker at the synagogue in north Manchester on Thursday. He drove into a group of people outside Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue before stabbing a man. Al-Shamie was shot dead by police seven minutes after officers were alerted to the attack in Crumpsall on Thursday morning, which took place on Yom Kippur, Judaism’s holiest day.

Greater Manchester Police said Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, died in the horrific attack and three others remain in hospital with serious injuries.

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The family of Al-Shamie has now issued a statement saying it was a "heinous act" and expressed "shock and sorrow". It read: "The news from Manchester regarding the terrorist attack targeting a Jewish synagogue has been a profound shock to us. 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.

It adds: "May God have mercy on the innocent victims, and we pray for the swift recovery of the injured."

Al-Shamie is understood to have entered the UK as a young child and was granted British citizenship in 2006 when he was around the age of 16. It is believed his name has not appeared in initial searches of police and security service records, and he is not thought to have been under investigation.

Neighbours of the synagogue killer said he had lived there since around 2021. One woman said: “We used to see him out in the garden working out, doing weights, press ups. He used to change his clothes. One day he would be wearing the full gown, to the floor and the next jeans and pyjama bottoms.”

Another person who lived near the house raided in Langley Crescent, Prestwich, told the Daily Telegraph she recognised its occupant from photographs of the synagogue attacker. She said: “He lived there 10 years, with no wife or kids that I could see. He never seemed to speak to anyone around here.

“I recognised him from the pictures of the attacker. I recognised his little car, the Kia, because he’d always park it badly outside ours. I’d see him walking around in his pyjamas and slip-on sandals, carrying a shopping bag. He was quite bulked up and used to keep his exercise weights in his garage. I’d see them there.”

ITV News said Al-Shamie is understood to have worked as a tutor teaching English and computer programming, while reports suggest his father is a surgeon.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she was “surprised” by the attacker’s name. Speaking on LBC, Ms Mahmood was asked about the attacker’s name, Jihad Al-Shamie, which presenter Nick Ferrari translated as “struggle of the Syrian”.

She said: “I was very surprised to discover that name myself. Actually, as a Muslim, I’ve never heard someone being called Jihad, but it is the name that he was born with – that has always been his name.”