Greater Manchester Police failed to examine devices seized from the attacker who later killed two men at a synagogue, Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson said on Wednesday, acknowledging a "missed opportunity" to stop the violence.
Jihad al-Shamie's phones were taken by officers in February and September 2025 but the data was never reviewed before he carried out a car-and-knife assault at Heaton Park Synagogue on 2 October 2025, killing Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz on Yom Kippur. Watson expressed deep regret that the contents were not analysed in time.
Separately, accomplice Mohammad Bashir was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum 17-year term for plotting with al-Shamie to attack the UK Defence Academy in Shrivenham. The Independent Office for Police Conduct is examining all prior police contact with al-Shamie, and inquests into the victims' deaths are scheduled for spring 2027.