45-Year-Old Suspect Arrested After Stabbing Two Jewish Men in Golders Green, London

British police arrested a 45-year-old man after two Jewish people were stabbed in Golders Green, a north London neighborhood with a large Jewish community, following a series of arson attacks targeting Jewish sites in the area.

Al Jazeera reported that Shomrim said the suspect was seen running with a knife “attempting to stab Jewish members of the public,” and that the two people stabbed were being treated by Hatzola, a Jewish volunteer ambulance service.

ABC News

The BBC and CBS News also described the incident as occurring in Golders Green on Wednesday morning, with the Metropolitan Police declaring it a terrorist incident and placing the suspect in custody.

The Metropolitan Police said the suspect also attempted to stab police officers and was tasered before being arrested, adding that “No officers were injured.”

Multiple outlets reported the victims’ ages and condition, with the Metropolitan Police saying “Two men — one in his 70s and one in his 30s” were treated at the scene and taken to hospital in stable condition, and CNN specifying ages 76 and 34.

CNN added that security camera footage showed one victim being shoved against a sign and repeatedly stabbed while putting on his kippah, and that the other victim yelled at the attacker before running away.

In parallel, the Guardian and Al Jazeera described Shomrim’s role in detaining the suspect before police arrived, with the Guardian quoting Shomrim’s account that the suspect was “attempting to stab Jewish members of the public.”

Across multiple reports, British counter-terrorism police and the Metropolitan Police treated the stabbing as terrorism and immediately opened a wider investigation into possible motives and links to other attacks.

The BBC said “UK police declare terrorist incident after two Jewish men stabbed in London,” reporting that the Metropolitan Police arrested a man on suspicion of attempted murder shortly after the stabbing in Golders Green on Wednesday morning, local time.

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CBS News likewise said police declared it a terrorist incident and that they were “looking into possible connections with a spate of recent antisemitic attacks,” while the head of counterterrorism policing, Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, confirmed the formal terrorist designation.

CNN quoted Laurence Taylor saying “This has now formally been declared a terrorist incident,” and added that police were investigating “whether this attack was deliberately targeting the Jewish community in London.”

The Guardian’s account emphasized the immediate threat assessment by police, stating that the Metropolitan police “confronted a man they believed to be a terrorist, who refused to show his hands, who was violent and continued to pose a clear threat,” and that officers feared he was carrying an explosive device.

Al Jazeera reported that the Shomrim neighborhood watch said the suspect was arrested after being seen running with a knife, and that the Community Security Trust also reported the attack in a social media post.

The Metropolitan Police said they were working to establish the suspect’s nationality and background, and the BBC reported that specialist officers from Counter Terrorism Policing were leading the investigation.

British political and royal figures condemned the stabbing and tied it to antisemitism, while police and community groups described the response and the investigation.

“British police have arrested a man after two Jewish people were stabbed in northern London, according to Jewish groups, after a series of arson attacks targeting Jewish sites in the area”

Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera said British Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the stabbing as “deeply concerning,” and that he told lawmakers in parliament that a police investigation was under way and “we all need to … be absolutely clear in our determination to deal with any of these offences, the like of which we have seen too much recently”.

The BBC reported Starmer’s message in parliament that “We will hold the owners fully accountable” was not part of this case, but it did quote his determination to deal with offences, and it also said he posted on X calling it an “antisemitic attack.”

London Mayor Sadiq Khan condemned the attack, with Al Jazeera quoting him: “There has been an appalling attack on two Jewish Londoners in Golders Green. The police have made an arrest and I’d like to thank all the emergency services and heroic volunteers… for their swift response,” and adding “There must be absolutely no place for antisemitism in society.”

NBC News reported that King Charles III, through a statement released by Buckingham Palace, said he was “deeply concerned” and that “His thoughts and prayers are with the two individuals who were injured and offers his heartfelt gratitude to those who so selflessly rushed to their aid.”

CNN also quoted police commissioner Mark Rowley describing the suspect’s “history of serious violence and mental health issues,” and it said Rowley called the incident a terrorist incident.

The BBC added that Detective Chief Superintendent Luke Williams said investigators were considering all possible motives, while Laurence Taylor said officers were working quickly to understand “exactly what happened.”

The stabbing was reported as the latest incident in a broader pattern of antisemitic attacks in London, including arson attacks on Jewish sites and emergency services, and police and politicians discussed possible links to foreign actors.

Al Jazeera said the incident came in the wake of “a spate of arson attacks on synagogues and community sites in the area,” including an attack in late March that saw four ambulances belonging to Hatzola set ablaze, and it also cited an attack on the Kenton United Synagogue in Harrow and the premises of a Jewish charity.

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The BBC similarly described a string of incidents that appear to target the UK’s Jewish community, and it said police were investigating whether the arson attacks were the work of Iranian proxies.

CBS News and CNN both connected the stabbing to recent arson attacks, with CBS News saying counterterrorism officers were investigating possible connections with a spate of recent antisemitic attacks and CNN describing the stabbing as “further rattling a Jewish community already reeling from a series of antisemitic attacks.”

NBC News reported that police said the suspect “has a history of serious violence and mental health issues” and also described the wider context, including an arson attack on ambulances in the area condemned by Starmer as a “deeply shocking antisemitic” assault.

CNN added that police commissioner Mark Rowley said there has been a rise in racist and antisemitic hate crime and that “some individuals are being encouraged, persuaded or paid to commit acts of violence on behalf of foreign organizations and hostile states.”

The BBC and other outlets also referenced the UK’s domestic intelligence service MI5, with the BBC saying MI5 “recently said it had disrupted more than 20 'potentially-lethal' Iran backed plots in the year to October last year.”

Beyond official condemnation, Jewish community voices and advocacy groups used the stabbing to press for security and action, while some outlets described how the incident heightened fears in Golders Green.

NBC News quoted Britain’s Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis saying, “Words of condemnation are no longer sufficient,” and that “This must be a moment that demands meaningful action from every institution, every leader, every decent person in our country.”

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NBC News also quoted Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, telling Sky News that antisemites are seeking “to raise the price of being Jewish,” and adding: “It’s not just our community that is under attack, it is our country which is under attack.”

CNN included a resident account from Avi Yodaiken, who said, “We feel very unsafe, knowing that we’re going to the synagogue every day and attackers are walking by and stabbing people,” and it reported that he knew one of the victims who was “just going to … the synagogue and he came out and he was stabbed.”

The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) issued a statement through its CEO Sacha Roytman, saying, “This is not random violence. This is open season on Jews,” and asking “how much blood must be shed before real action to stop this wave of terror is taken?”

CAM also warned that “If governments do not respond forcefully at every level, through policing, legislation, education, and the dismantling of incitement networks, this ‘hunting season’ against Jews will continue.”

In parallel, the BBC and NBC News described police steps to reassure communities, with the BBC reporting that London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the Met had “stepped up high visibility patrols in the area,” and NBC News reporting that police had stepped up efforts including “armed police patrols” and deployments of officers from Project Servator.