Friends of Manchester synagogue attacker reveal how he became radicalised and 'obsessed' with dating apps

The synagogue killer, Jihad al Shamie, radicalised himself after searching online for videos of the Islamic State terror group, according to a friend.  The man, Qas, said al Shamie "started using [encrypted messaging app] Telegram and searching for ISIS videos.

"Once, he even tried to show me one at the shisha lounge. I told him to go away and asked how he even got access to that content, and he said it was through Telegram.

After that, I didn't see him for a long time until I heard what had happened." Another friend, Asim, told Sky News he met al Shamie through their shared interest in computers. He said he noticed a difference in al Shamie a year ago.

Asim said al Shamie "changed a bit, I felt his thoughts were a bit too radical for me. He was a nice guy, very quiet and softly-spoken.

I was shocked about what he did. "He started asking me for money - not small amounts, but thousands," Asim explained.

"When I refused, he became angry. I'd never seen that side of him before." Earlier this year, al Shamie was working as a call handler for the RAC motoring organisation.

He was employed through an agency as a part-time temp from December to the end of March, when he was no longer needed. Last year, al Shamie had money problems and was subject to a government debt relief order, which meant that his debts would be paid off in a year if he agreed to certain restrictions.

Money appeared to be one of many problems. A former friend of al Shamie described how he became increasingly withdrawn and "in his own world" after a steroid addiction had led to heavier drug use.

They said his behaviour became strange and unpredictable. "I once noticed on his phone that he had several notifications from dating apps, which confused me because I knew he was married," the friend said.

"You could be having a normal conversation with him, and suddenly he would flip and start ranting. I eventually blocked him." Multiple marriages and 'obsessed' with dating app It's believed the terrorist married several wives in Islamic wedding ceremonies, one of them even before he split up from the mother of his young child.

He reportedly became obsessed with an Islamic dating app, and sent abusive messages to an ex-girlfriend, hit her and told her to dress more conservatively during their brief on-off relationship. The woman, who was 18 at the time, told the Manchester Evening News: "He used to say 'I want you to be dedicated to the cause', and he used to sit there and make me watch videos, like extreme videos, that I had no interest in.

"I am Muslim and of course I love to learn more, but this stuff were things that I have been raised to not agree with. He used to always say I was taught the wrong way and I wasn't taught right.

He was basically just trying to groom me into what he thought." She said he would message girls on his Muzmatch - now Muzz - dating app, using false names such as Valentino and Ahmed. "He kept getting banned because of his speech and what he was sending," she said.

"There were times when he would send me videos of him with other girls, and the girls were quite young." 'Rape fantasies' The woman said al Shamie told her he had "rape fantasies.