The perpetrator of a terrorist attack at a synagogue in England last week called the emergency services during his assault and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, the police announced on Wednesday.
Jihad al-Shamie, 35, was shot dead by armed police officers minutes later, after killing one person and injuring two others in a car-ramming and stabbing attack on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation in Manchester, England.
Another person died after being accidentally struck by a police bullet as worshipers used their bodies to barricade the synagogue’s doors against the assailant, while another bystander was shot but survived.
The attack took place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, adding to fears about the safety of Jews around the world amid rising antisemitism, and prompting questions over why Britain’s security services had not detected and prevented the plot.
Assistant Chief Constable Rob Potts, of the Greater Manchester Police, said in a statement on Wednesday that Mr. al-Shamie had not been flagged as a potential threat to the counterterrorism police previously but that law enforcement was now “confident that he was influenced by extreme Islamist ideology.”
Mr. Potts said that Mr. al-Shamie had attended the synagogue about 15 minutes before the start of the attack and had been seen “acting suspiciously” before being confronted by security and walking away. The episode had not been reported to the police.
When he returned, around 9:30 a.m., he rammed his car into people gathering at the synagogue, crashed into a wall and emerged wearing a fake explosive belt and wielding a knife that he used to continue the attack, Mr. Potts said.
“Minutes after the first call was made to the police and as firearms officers were making their way to the scene, al-Shamie called 999 claiming responsibility for the attack,” Mr. Potts said, referring to the British emergency line. “He also pledged allegiance to Islamic State.”
The tactics used in the attack closely mirrored advice issued by the Islamic State to its international followers in English-language propaganda publications, in which the group has released detailed guidance on the use of vehicles and knives and urged supporters to announce their “motive and allegiance” before death.
The terrorist group has previously claimed responsibility for and celebrated attacks in Britain, including a vehicle and knife attack in Westminster and a bombing in Manchester. Fake explosive vests have been worn by the perpetrators of at least four jihadist terror attacks that have taken place in England since 2017.
The investigation into the Manchester synagogue attack continues, the police said, and six people have been arrested and questioned. Two were released without being charged. Mr. Potts said that “further drivers and motivations” for the attack may be identified.
Mr. al-Shamie had previous criminal convictions and was under investigation for rape, it emerged on Friday. He had been released on bail by the police when he staged his attack.
The new details were released as a trial began in the nearby city of Preston, in which two men stand accused of plotting to commit separate terror attacks inspired by the Islamic State targeting Jewish people in the northwest of England.
Opening the case on Wednesday, the prosecutor, Harpreet Sandhu, said the men had been caught trying to buy guns and ammunition from an undercover officer. “They planned to kill as many members of the Jewish community as they could,” he said. “Their plan was to get the weapons and ammunition and identify a mass gathering of Jewish people whom they could attack. They had also identified areas in Greater Manchester with a large Jewish population to attack.”
The defendants deny all charges.
Sir Stephen Watson, the chief constable of the Greater Manchester Police, said in a statement that the details expected to be presented in the trial could have a “further unsettling effect on our Jewish community in particular,” but that there was no link between the case and last week’s synagogue attack.