A person charged with the attempted murder of two Jewish men in a stabbing attack in north London earlier this week appeared in court on Friday, in line with British media, including the BBC.
Essa Suleiman, 45, is accused of attacking 34-year-old Shloime Rand and 76-year-old Moshe Shine with a knife in Golders Green, an area of London that’s home to a big Jewish population.
Each men were seriously injured through the attack on Wednesday, which was declared a terrorist incident by the London Metropolitan Police, and were treated in hospital.
Suleiman can also be accused of attempting to murder Ishmail Hussein in a separate stabbing attack at Hussein’s home in Southwark, south London, the identical day of the Golders Green incident.
The suspect has a history of “serious violence and mental health issues,” Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley said Wednesday on the attack scene.
Get every day National news
Get every day Canada news delivered to your inbox so you may never miss the day’s top stories.
Prosecutors said after targeting Hussein, Suleiman travelled to Golders Green and set his sights on Rand before attacking Shine, adding that each men were easily identifiable as Orthodox Jews by their attire, in line with The Guardian.
They said a member of the general public, who was not identified in court, witnessed the attack on Shine and attempted to disarm the assailant. Additional charges are being considered against Suleiman in relation to his actions towards the witness, the British outlet reported.
Frank Ferguson, Head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said in a statement on Friday, “We now have authorised two charges of attempted murder against Essa Suleiman, and one in all possession of a knife, after two men were stabbed in Golders Green, north west London, on Wednesday, 29 April.”
“We now have also authorised an attempted murder charge in a separate incident involving one other man on the identical day in a distinct location,” Ferguson added.
A person walks past a blocked road after two people were stabbed within the Golders Green neighbourhood in London, which has a big Jewish community, on April 29, 2026.
AP Photo/Kin Cheung
Hussein and Suleiman had known one another for 20 years, the BBC reported.
Suleiman appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday wearing a gray sweatsuit and spoke only to verify his name and address. He didn’t enter any pleas.
The country’s official threat level from terrorism was raised from substantial to severe after Wednesday’s stabbing attack.
Severe is the second-highest rung on a five-point scale. It means intelligence agencies consider an attack highly likely in the subsequent six months.
Following the incident, the U.K. government said that the country is facing an antisemitism emergency and pledged to extend security for Jewish communities after a string of arson attacks and a double stabbing which have sparked fear and anger amongst Jews.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that his government “will do the whole lot in our power to stamp this hatred out.”
Wednesday’s stabbings follow a spate of attacks targeting Jewish sites in north London, including an arson attempt on Finchley Reform Synagogue, the torching of ambulances belonging to a Jewish charity parked in Golders Green in March, an attack on a former Jewish charity constructing in Hendon, which neighbours Golders Green and a bottle containing “some form of accelerant” being thrown at Kenton United Synagogue in Harrow, north west London earlier in April.
–with files from The Associated Press
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.