The man suspected of stabbing two Jewish people in Golders Green has been named as Essa Suleiman.
Suleiman, 45, a Somali-born British national, was arrested on Wednesday after Shloime Rand, 34, and Moshe Ben Baila, named locally as Moshe Shine, 76, were attacked by a knifeman.
Police have confirmed the suspect is a 45-year-old Somali-born British national with a history of ‘serious violence and mental health issues’, who was previously referred to Prevent.
He was referred to the government’s anti-extremism programme in 2020, but the case was closed later that year.
It is understood Suleiman, previously of Camberwell, once worked as a school security guard.
Police across the UK have stepped up patrols in response to the attack that saw the two Jewish men taken to hospital.
The suspect attacked in broad daylight at around 11:15am on Wednesday, before also attempting to stab police who arrived at the scene.
Video footage showed him being Tasered by Met officers before being kicked in the head, as they repeatedly yelled at him to ‘drop the knife’.
It came after police were called to a separate incident believed to involve the same suspect in Southwark, south London at 8:50am yesterday.
Officers were called to reports of a man armed with a knife involved in an altercation outside a property on Great Dover Street.
Essa Suleiman, 45, is a Somali-born British national with a long history of violence and mental health problems, police have said
While one of the police officers managed to throw the knife away, another officer as well as the bystander gained control of the man’s arm
CCTV image reportedly shows the moment Moshe Shine was stabbed while waiting for a bus
One occupant of the address sustained minor injuries, and police launched a search for a man in the surrounding area.
But less than two hours later, on the opposite side of the city, the suspect is alleged to have stabbed the two men, whose injuries are fortunately not life-threatening.
Iranian-linked terror group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya (HAYI) claimed responsibility for the attack yesterday, but intelligence sources suggested this was ‘opportunistic’. The group provided no evidence it was behind the stabbings.
The attack is the latest in a series of incidents involving Jewish sites over recent weeks and have prompted calls for urgent action, with accusations the Government has not done enough to tackle anti-Semitism.
Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis called for ‘meaningful action’ to tackle the ‘root causes’ of anti-Semitism, while the Board of Deputies of British Jews said anti-Semitism must be ‘confronted, punished and deterred with the full force of the state’.
The Commissioner of the Met Police Sir Mark Rowley yesterday confirmed the incident is being treated as a terror attack and warned against malign states and actors.
Today protesters in Golders Green showed their anger at Sir Keir as he finally visited the scene of the attack, 24 hours after it occurred, calling him a ‘coward’ for not facing them sooner.
One of the victims, Shloime Rand, 34, said from his hospital bed today that he held the Government responsible and that it is a ‘miracle’ he survived being stabbed in the chest.
At lunchtime, the Labour leader’s police convoy took him away from the crowds heckling him. He was instead whisked into a closed doors meeting at the new headquarters of the local Jewish ambulance service Hatzollah.
Sir Keir held a roundtable with first responders and leaders from Hatzola as well as Shomrim, a volunteer Jewish security group.
Both victims remain in hospital in a stable condition, with a police probe into the terror-related incident ongoing
He was joined by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Sarah Sackman, MP for Finchley and Golders Green, as well Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley.
Protester Mendy Muster, 23, an accountant and Golders Green local told the Daily Mail: ‘We all think he is a coward for not answering us directly. He does want to be held accountable.
‘He knows he has let us down. He knows it is his fault and he taking too long. He should have been yesterday let alone today. He is not doing enough he is not preventing anything he is reacting’.
This is a breaking news story. More to follow.
