Two Jewish men were stabbed in broad daylight in a leafy suburb of north London, United Kingdom, on Wednesday in what police described as a terrorist incident, further alarming a Jewish community already reeling from a series of antisemitic attacks in the British capital.
A 45-year-old man, who is also accused of attempting to stab police officers, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, according to the Metropolitan Police.
In an update released Wednesday night, officers said the suspect “is a British national, born in Somalia.” He was initially taken to hospital but was later discharged and is now being held in custody at a London police station, authorities added.
Police said two victims, aged 76 and 34, were attacked in Golders Green at around 11:16 a.m. local time. Both were taken to hospital and are in stable condition. No police officers were injured during the incident.
Security camera footage obtained by CNN shows the moments of the attack. One victim is seen standing near a bus stop, adjusting his kippah, when the attacker pushes him against a sign and repeatedly stabs him.
The second victim, walking along a nearby street, is also stabbed before shouting at the assailant and escaping.
The suspect has a “history of serious violence and mental health issues,” London’s police commissioner Mark Rowley told reporters.
“This has now formally been declared a terrorist incident,” said Laurence Taylor, head of counterterrorism policing in London. He added that investigators are examining “whether this attack was deliberately targeting the Jewish community in London.”
Counterterrorism units are now leading the investigation as police work to determine the suspect’s background and any possible extremist links.
Authorities are also looking into a separate stabbing earlier the same day in southeast London, where a man armed with a knife injured a resident before fleeing. Police believe both incidents may have been carried out by the same individual.
Rabbi Herschel Gluck, who oversees a nearby branch of the neighborhood watch group Shomrim, said volunteers responded quickly to the scene. They “apprehended the stabber and held on to him until the police came,” he said.
Footage recorded by residents shows the suspect later moving toward officers before being subdued with a Taser and arrested.
By the time CNN arrived, large sections of the area had been cordoned off, with police helicopters and multiple emergency vehicles deployed.
Jewish communities in London have faced a series of recent attacks, leaving many residents increasingly anxious. One local said they were “very shocked and, perhaps even more troubling, not surprised.”
“It’s an impossible scenario where the Jewish community day after day is being attacked,” said David Meyer, CEO of Jewish educational organization PaJeS.
“It’s not acceptable that people cannot walk along the street without fear of being attacked,” he added, warning against the fear becoming normalized.
Rising antisemitic violence
The stabbing adds to a growing list of attacks on synagogues and Jewish-linked sites across London, which have intensified fears within the community.
Last month, four ambulances belonging to a Jewish charity in Golders Green were set on fire in what police later described as arson, with four suspects charged.
Weeks later, a synagogue and a former Jewish charity building in north London were also targeted.
Earlier this week, another suspected arson attack damaged a memorial wall displaying images of protest victims and those killed in Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attacks in southern Israel.
Speaking at the scene, Mark Rowley said there has been a noticeable rise in racist and antisemitic hate crime.
“We know that some individuals are being encouraged, persuaded or paid to commit acts of violence on behalf of foreign organizations and hostile states,” he said.
He added that police have “significantly stepped up” operations across the city, with thousands of additional officer shifts deployed and dozens of arrests made in recent weeks.
“We feel very unsafe, knowing that we’re going to the synagogue every day and attackers are walking by and stabbing people,” said Avi Yodaiken, a long-time Golders Green resident who said he knew one of the victims.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the incident in Parliament, calling it an “antisemitic attack” that was “utterly appalling.”
“We all need to … be absolutely clear in our determination to deal with any of these offenses, the like of which we’ve seen too much recently,” he said.
King Charles III, currently on a state visit to the United States, was briefed on the attack and expressed that his “thoughts and prayers are with the two individuals who were injured,” according to Buckingham Palace.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog also reacted, saying he was “horrified by yet another violent attack on Jews in broad daylight on the streets of London,” urging the UK government to act “before the next antisemitic attack occurs.”
