Manchester police chief apologizes for missed investigation

The Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police has apologized for a "missed opportunity" to investigate the Manchester synagogue attacker, Jihad AlShamie, after admitting police seized but did not examine his mobile phones months before the deadly assault. The apology came on July 23, 2026, following the sentencing of AlShamie's accomplice in a separate terror plot.

AlShamie, a 35-year-old Syrian-born British citizen, carried out the attack at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall on October 2, 2025. He rammed a car into the synagogue gates and attacked worshippers with a knife while wearing a fake suicide belt. Two Jewish men, Melvin Cravitz, 66, and Adrian Daulby, 53, were killed. Four others were injured. AlShamie was shot dead by responding police firearms officers at the scene.

Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson confirmed that AlShamie had been arrested twice in 2025 on non-terrorism charges: on February 13 for allegedly breaching a non-molestation order and again on September 21 for an alleged assault. On both occasions, his mobile devices were seized. An internal review found the phones contained substantial evidence of an extremist mindset, but...