Published on •Updated
A 45-year-old man was charged with attempted murder on Friday in the stabbings of two Jewish men in London, the latest in a string of attacks that have sparked fear and anger in Britain’s Jewish community.
London Metropolitan Police said the suspect, identified as Essa Suleiman, faces two charges for the attacks that took place in London’s Golders Green area on Wednesday.
Suleiman also faces a third count of attempted murder over an incident elsewhere in the city earlier the same day that left a man with minor injuries. Suleiman, a Somalia-born British citizen, is due to make his first court appearance on Friday.
The British government pledged to tackle antisemitism after the stabbings in an area in north London that is the epicentre of the capital’s Jewish community.
The victims, aged 34 and 76, were seriously injured. One has since been discharged from a hospital and the other is in stable condition. The stabbings followed a series of arson attacks on synagogues and other Jewish sites in London in recent weeks.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that his government would increase security for the Jewish community and “do everything in our power to stamp this hatred out.”
Britain’s official terror threat level was raised from substantial to severe after Wednesday’s stabbing incident.
Severe is the second-highest classification on a five-point scale and means intelligence agencies consider an attack highly likely in the next six months.
The government said the change was not due solely to the Golders Green attack but also due to increased danger “from Islamist and extreme right-wing terrorist threat from individuals and small groups based in the UK.”
Police say Suleiman was referred in 2020 to the government’s Prevent programme, which tries to steer individuals away from extremism.
The police force said his file was closed later the same year, and didn’t disclose the reason for the referral.
Additional sources • AP