Counter terrorism police investigating the Texas synagogue siege are focusing on who helped to pay for Malik Faisal Akram's trip to the US, the M.E.N. has learned.
Malik Faisal Akram, 44, from Blackburn, held four hostages at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue.
All four were released without being injured, but Mr Akram was shot and killed by the FBI following the ten-hour siege earlier this month.
UK counter terrorism police, who are assisting US counterparts, have so far arrested five people in connection with the incident, two of them in Manchester.
Four have been released and one remains in police custody.
The M.E.N. understands the focus of the Counter Terrorism Policing North West investigation is on the financing of Akram's trip to the US.
He was of limited means and it is suspected he had financial help to travel, a source has told the M.E.N.
Despite reportedly having a criminal record, he was able to fly into the US and buy a gun in Texas where he was living in a homeless shelter.
On a Facebook live broadcast during the siege, Akram was heard calling for the release of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist suspected of having ties to Al Qaeda.
She was convicted of trying to kill US military officers while in custody in Afghanistan.
Akram had been banned from going in Blackburn magistrates' court after telling an usher he wished they had died in one of the planes that crashed into the Twin Towers in the New York terror attack on September 11, 2001, the M.E.N. has previously reported.
He was branded a 'menace' for causing trouble at the court building, prompting court bosses to successfully apply for an exclusion order made under Section 12 of the Contempt of Court Act.
Akram was reportedly investigated by MI5 in 2020 but was no longer considered a threat by the following year.
Greater Manchester Police said it would not comment when contacted by the M.E.N. today.
But in an update on January 27 on behalf of Counter Terrorism Policing North West they said: "Communities defeat terrorism, and the help and support we get from the public is a vital part of that.
"We urge everyone to remain vigilant, and if you do see anything suspicious then please report it, in confidence, to police via the Anti-terrorist hotline or gov.uk/ACT.
"It won't ruin lives, but it may well save them."
