Bernard Agyemang, 44, still wakes up screaming. The security guard who survived the Manchester synagogue attack says he suffers nightmares, flashbacks, and lives in constant fear for his family’s safety. “Life changed forever that day,” he told reporters after the sentencing of Jihad Al‑Shamie’s associate.
Al‑Shamie, 35, drove his Kia into worshippers outside Heaton Park Synagogue in Crumpsall on 2 October 2025, then attacked with a knife. Armed police shot him dead after he ran at them “aggressively” carrying the blade and what turned out to be a fake explosive. Two men died: Melvin Cravitz, 66, and Adrian Daulby, 53. Agyemang suffered fractures to his right leg and collarbone, a suspected brain injury, and now walks with a crutch. “I live with constant physical pain but it’s the trauma that has been the hardest to cope with,” he said.
“Police apologise as phones of Manchester synagogue attacker, Jihad Al-Shamie, seized twice but unexamined before killing two men.”
What haunts the force is that none of this needed to happen. Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson has apologised after admitting the attacker’s phones – seized in February and September 2025, when Al‑Shamie was arrested on suspicion of rape – were never examined. The devices contained “substantial” evidence of an extremist mindset, including WhatsApp chats with Mohammad Bashir about becoming martyrs and preparing for a “war”. “The information contained within these devices would have inspired further investigative action,” Watson said. “I am deeply sorry.”
Bashir, who plotted a separate attack on the UK’s Defence Academy in Shrivenham, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 17 years at Manchester Crown Court. His sentencing lifted reporting restrictions, allowing the police failure to be disclosed. The Independent Office for Police Conduct is now investigating all previous contact between GMP and Al‑Shamie. One officer is under investigation for potential misconduct over handling of the rape allegations.
Agyemang said of Bashir’s sentence: “No sentence will ever make up for the lives we have lost or the suffering my community has endured.” He said he spoke out to show that “despite everything, I will continue to work alongside my family and community as we support one another”. The question left hanging is whether the force’s internal review will lead to more than an apology.