Police declared a terrorist incident after two Jewish men were stabbed on a street in Golders Green in north London.
Shloime Rand, 34, and Moshe Shine, 76, have been named as the two victims in the attack, which took place on Wednesday morning.
A 45-year-old man, identified as Essa Suleiman, a British national who was born in Somalia, is in custody after he was tasered by police. Police said he had previously been referred to the government’s Prevent counter-extremism programme.
What happened?
CCTV appears to show the moment the man launched the attacks, in which he stabbed the men, who were described as "innocent bystanders".
Members of local voluntary security service Shomrim were reportedly first on the scene and helped apprehend the suspect, who then tried to stab police officers when they arrived.
"[He] came outside a synagogue and started stabbing people, he pushed one of the victims over and continued stabbing him,” said volunteer Ben Grossnass, who was on the scene with Shomrim, according to the Jewish Chronicle.
Dramatic body cam video shows the attacker approaching two police officers who told him to "stay back" and "get down on the ground", before firing tasers which brought down the suspect. As they moved in, they shouted at him to "put down the knife".
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The victims were both treated at the scene for stab wounds and both remain in a stable condition in hospital.
The suspect was also taken to hospital, but then released into police custody.
The mother of one of the victims has said she is “horrified” such an attack could take place on the streets of London.
Shloime Rand's mother told the BBC: "I'm pretty horrified that these things could happen on the streets of London, in an innocent community where we try our best not to hurt anyone.
"Shloime was walking on the street minding his own business. I was able to see him yesterday. Thank God, he was conscious the whole time. We hope he will be home before Shabbat."
Who is the suspect?
The suspect in the double stabbing has been identified as Essa Suleiman. He is a British national who was born in Somalia and came to the UK legally in the 1990s.
Metropolitan Police chief Sir Mark Rowley told reporters the suspect has a "history of serious violence and mental health issues".
On Thursday it emerged Suleiman had been referred to the government’s Prevent counter-extremism programme back in 2020.
The Met said: “We can confirm the suspect was known to the Prevent programme and was subject to a Prevent referral in 2020, which was closed in the same year.
“Given the investigation remains ongoing, we will not be providing any further information in respect of this matter at this time and we remain focused on securing justice for the victims of this attack.”
Police have also linked Suleiman to an earlier incident in south London on the same morning.
Officers were called to an incident at an address in Great Dover Street in Borough just before 9am on Wednesday.
"The suspect who is reported to have been armed with a knife, is believed to have had an altercation with the occupant before leaving. The occupant received minor injuries and police arrived within around six minutes of being called," a statement from the Metropolitan Police said.
"It is believed that the suspect in this incident is the same individual arrested in Golders Green."
What has the response been?
Counterterrorism police are investigating whether the stabbings are linked to recent arson attacks on synagogues and other Jewish sites in the British capital.
Sir Mark said that it was "another horrendous act of violence directed against our Jewish communities".
But some British Jews expressed anger at authorities' failure to keep them safe. Rowley faced shouts of "shame on you" and "resign" from bystanders when he made a statement to media at the scene of the stabbings, AP reports.
Home secretary Shabana Mahmood has said she's treating the rise in antisemitic attacks in the UK as "an emergency" and the government has announced an extra £25m in funding for increased police patrols and security in Jewish communities following the attack.
The funding will be made available to provide further protection around synagogues, schools and community centres.
Prime minister Keir Starmer held a meeting of the government's emergency committee and vowed to "deal with the roots of antisemitism and extremism." Buckingham Palace said that King Charles III was "deeply concerned".
Britain's chief rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said that Jews in the UK now face a campaign of violence and intimidation and that words of condemnation are no longer sufficient.
"This must be a moment that demands meaningful action from every institution, every community, every leader and every decent person in our country," he said. "This is a hatred that we must face down together."
Britain's long-established Jewish community represents a tiny percentage of the population. The 2021 Census reported 287,360 people identifying as Jewish in England and Wales, with over half (53.6 per cent) living in London. Golders Green is one of the community's biggest areas, home to kosher restaurants, Jewish schools and several dozen synagogues, as well as large Asian and Middle Eastern communities.
The number of antisemitic incidents reported across the UK has soared since the attack by Hamas-led militants on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, and Israel's subsequent war in Gaza, according to the Community Security Trust charity.
The group recorded 3,700 incidents in 2025, up from 1,662 in 2022, AP reports.
