2 Jewish men were stabbed in north London on Wednesday, 29 April ’26. The attacker had thereafter run down a street targeting Jews. The police are treating this attack as a suspected terrorist incident.
The police said that the two victims were aged 76 and 34. They were both in stable conditions in the hospital. The 45-year-old man, suspected of this stabbing, also attacked a few police officers before being stopped in his tracks by a Taser stun gun.
The police said in a statement that the suspect is a British national, born in Somalia. He, too, was initially taken to a hospital before being discharged. He now remains in the custody of a London police station.
Detectives believed that this same suspect was also involved in a separate altercation earlier the same day in southeast London. In that incident, the suspect was also armed with a knife, while another had received minor injuries, said the police.
The latest in a spate of UK antisemitic attacks has led to calls for urgent action from Jewish community leaders in London. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu & the Israeli president had also expressed concerns about the safety of Britain’s 290,000 Jews.
The police are questioning the suspect on suspicion of attempted murder. He has had a history of serious violence besides mental health issues, said London’s police chief, Mark Rowley, in a statement shared at the scene of this attack.
The government has promised to provide more resources across the country to protect communities, including increased funding for mental health services and community safety initiatives. However, as a sign of anger & fear, a crowd at the attack site heckled Rowley. They called on him to resign, shouting, ‘You’ve failed.’
Unverified footage of the Wednesday, 29 April incident, posted on social media, appeared to depict a man in a traditional Jewish skullcap being attacked by an assailant with a knife while standing at a bus stop.
