“We are continuing to investigate the full circumstances and motivation behind what happened. The investigation is continuing at pace”
16:12, 08 Oct 2025Updated 16:25, 08 Oct 2025
Jihad Al-Shamie(Image: Facebook)
Manchester synagogue terrorist Jihad Al-Shamie made a 999 call to police pledging his allegiance to the Islamic State as he began his attack, counter terror cops have confirmed.
The 35-year-old is reported to have told an operator: “I have killed two Jews in the name of the Islamic State.”
Adrian Daulby, 53, and 66-year-old Melvin Cravitz died during an attack in which Al-Shamie drove his car at worshippers and wielded a knife outside the Heaton Park Congregation Synagogue.
A spokesman for Counter Terrorism Policing North West said: “We can confirm that, in the initial stages of the attack outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, a call was made by the attacker to police claiming to pledge allegiance to the so-called Islamic State.
“We are continuing to investigate the full circumstances and motivation behind what happened. The investigation is continuing at pace.”
Synagogue attacker Jihad Al-Shamie(Image: Submitted)
The terrorist is also said to have shouted ‘this is what you’re going to get for killing our children’. He was shot dead by armed police in the grounds of the synagogue after failing to gain entrance to the building.
Mr Daulby died after being caught in the crossfire. He was behind the entrance door to the synagogue bravely keeping it shut to prevent Al-Shamie getting in when he was hit by a bullet fired by police.
Mr Cravitz is said to have been outside when he was fatally injured. Yoni Finlay, a 35-year-old father of three who helped barricade the door, was also hit by a stray bullet fired by a police marksman but is recovering. Three men remain in hospital with serious injuries, including a security guard with car impact injuries and a Community Security Trust (CST) worker with stab wounds.
CCTV footage of Al-Shamie(Image: BBC)
Reportedly a university dropout, Al-Shamie was born in Syria but was granted British citizenship in 2006 when he was around 16 having entered the UK as a young child. He was on police bail accused of rape when he carried out the attack in Crumpsall.
Police said he ‘may have been influenced by extreme Islamist ideology’.
Al-Shamie had multiple wives. One woman told the Manchester Evening News she endured a three-year abusive relationship. She said: “He used to say ‘I want you to be dedicated to the cause’ and he used to sit there and make me watch videos – like extreme videos – that I had no interest in.
“I am a Muslim and of course I love to learn more. But this stuff was things that I have been raised not to agree with. He used to say I was taught the wrong way. He was basically just trying to groom me into what he thought.”