Authorities in the UK have charged a 45-year-old man over the stabbings of two Jewish men in the Golders Green community in London.
The attack, which took place on Wednesday, left a 34-year-old man and a 76-year-old man injured. One victim has been discharged from hospital and the other is in stable condition.
In the aftermath, the British government raised the national terrorism threat to its second-highest level, meaning officials assess a terrorist attack as highly likely within the next six months. Metropolitan Police chief Mark Rowley called it “another horrendous act of violence directed against our Jewish communities.” The Golders Green attack has been treated as an act of terrorism.
The suspect, named as Essa S., a Somalia-born British citizen living in London, is expected to appear in court. He faces two counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a bladed article in a public place, linked to the Golders Green incident. He also faces a third count of attempted murder over an earlier incident elsewhere in the city that left a man with minor injuries.
Police said the suspect had previously been referred to the government’s Prevent programme aimed at stopping radicalisation, but that his file was later closed. The stabbings follow a string of recent attacks on London’s Jewish community, including several arson attacks on synagogues and other Jewish sites.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged increased security for the Jewish community and said authorities will “do everything in our power to stamp this hatred out.” London Mayor Sadiq Khan said London’s Jewish community “have been the target of a series of shocking antisemitic attacks” and that “there must be absolutely no place for antisemitism in society.”
Edited by: Alex Berry