The father of Jihad al-Shamie, who was shot dead by police after attacking a Manchester synagogue, has condemned his son’s actions as a “heinous act”. Faraj al-Shamie issued a statement on behalf of the family expressing “deep shock and sorrow” and distancing themselves from the attack, which left two people dead and three seriously injured.
However, it has emerged that in 2023, Faraj al-Shamie posted on Facebook praising Hamas’s 7 October attacks on Israel, calling them a “miracle” and perpetuated by “men of God on Earth”. He has worked as an emergency trauma surgeon for NGOs including the Red Cross in conflict zones.
The 35-year-old attacker, a British citizen of Syrian descent, drove a car into the grounds of Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Crumpsall on Thursday morning, then attempted to stab worshippers. Armed officers shot him twice, killing him at the door of the temple.
Neighbours in Prestwich described Shamie as an ordinary but sometimes unsociable character, who had lived there since around 2021. He worked as a tutor but was listed as unemployed in insolvency records. One neighbour recalled seeing him working out in the garden, while another said he parked badly and wore pyjamas outside.
Police raided his home about seven hours after the attack, using a chainsaw and a police dog. The chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, said the attack was the result of “an unrelenting wave of Jew hatred”, and the archbishop-designate of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, said the Church stands with the Jewish community against antisemitism.
