In a statement, Greater Manchester Police confirmed that, although formal identification is yet to take place, they believe the person responsible for Thursday's attack is the 35-year-old.
According to the force he is "a British citizen of Syrian descent".
ITV News understands he was a father and his family had lived in Greater Manchester for at least 30 years. His father appears to have worked as a trauma surgeon for several NGOs in warzones across the world. Al-Shamie appears to have worked as a tutor teaching English and computer programming.
Greater Manchester Police confirmed that according to their records, Jihad Al-Shamie had no previous Prevent referrals - that means authorities were not aware that he was at risk of becoming involved with terrorism through radicalisation.
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