Neighbours recall he was a quiet man

Long before his short stints in jail turned into years behind bars, Khalid Masood was known as Adrian Elms, with a reputation for drinking and an unpredictable temper.

At least twice he was convicted of violent crimes, well before he stabbed a police officer to death Wednesday with a motion one horrified witness described as like “playing a drum on your back with two knives”.

But as he checked out of his hotel to head toward London for his deadly rampage, the manager of the hotel said he was struck by his guest’s friendly and outgoing manner.

Arrest record

In all, Masood killed four people and left more than two dozen hospitalised in what authorities called a terrorist attack.

Masood, who at 52 is considerably older than most extremists who carry out bloodshed in the West, had an arrest record dating to 1983. The violence came later, first in 2000 when he slashed a man across the face in a pub parking lot in a racially charged argument after drinking four pints of beer, according to a newspaper account from the time.

The victim, Piers Mott, would keep the scar the rest of his life, said his widow, Heather. The last conviction was in 2003, also involving a knife attack. It’s not clear when he took the name Masood, suggesting a conversion to Islam.

Masood’s mother. Janet Ajao, lives in rural Wales, according to a website on which she sells handmade creations like cushions and handbags. When Masood was in school, he took his stepfather’s name, Ajao. He was athletic and popular in high school, according to Stuart Knight, a former classmate.

In one of the last places Masood lived, a home in Birmingham, neighbours recalled him as a quiet man whose wife was veiled and who wore traditional Muslim clothing.