London: A 45-year-old Somalia-born British man appeared in a court on Friday charged with attempted murder of three men after two Jewish men were stabbed in an anti-semitic terrorist attack in north London.
Essa Suleiman has also been charged with one count of possession of a bladed article in a public place and remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey court in London on May 15.
The Metropolitan Police said the investigation is led by Counter Terrorism Policing London.
“Our thoughts remain with the victims involved and specialist officers continue to provide them with support as their recovery continues,” said Commander Helen Flanagan, Head of CTP London.
Two men aged 76 and 34 were treated at the scene in Highfield Avenue, Golders Green, for stab wounds before being taken to hospital. While the 34-year-old has since been discharged, the 76-year-old remains in hospital and is said to be in a stable condition.
“As part of this investigation, detectives were also made aware of an incident that was reported to police earlier on Wednesday 29 April in south-east London. It is believed the suspect in this incident was the same individual arrested in Golders Green,” the Met Police said.
According to court reports, Suleiman had been living in supported accommodation for people released from a secure mental health hospital.
The attack in Golders Green was formally declared a terrorist incident, with CTP London’s investigation said to be ongoing. It led to the UK’s Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre raising the country’s national threat level on Thursday from substantial, meaning an attack is likely, to severe meaning an attack is highly likely in the next six months.
“As the threat level rises, I urge everyone to be vigilant as they go about their daily lives, and report any concerns they have to the police. And I can assure everyone that our world-class security services and the police are working day and night to keep our country safe,” said UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.
It followed British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to the scene of the terrorist attack in Golders Green, a major Jewish hub of London. He appealed against the rise of anti-semitism in the country and pledged to fast-track laws to target “malign state actors” who want to “harm British Jews”, including tackling the threat “posed by states like Iran”.
The US-Israel strikes in West Asia have been linked with several recent attacks targeting the Jewish community in London, with a group named Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia previously claiming responsibility for some of the attacks on the Telegram app.
The Met Police said that since an arson attack on the Hatzola Jewish charity ambulances in Golders Green in March, there have been 28 arrests linked to the various incidents. Of those, eight people have been charged with arson-related offences, and one person has been convicted of arson.
A significant policing operation has been in place to provide reassurance and deterrence, which has been further enhanced using both highly visible and other specialist police resources, the Met Police added.
