Knife attacker stabs two Jewish men in Golders Green terror attack in London, England.
NEWS:
A knife attacker stabbed two Jewish men within approximately four minutes in Golders Green, north London, during an assault that British counterterrorism authorities formally declared a terrorist incident directed against the Jewish community.
The attacks began shortly after 00:11:15 a.m. on April 29, 2026, in the Highfield Avenue area. The victims were Shloime Rand, 34, and Norman Shine, 76, who is also known locally as Moshe Shine.
Surveillance footage records the attacker following Rand along a side street near a synagogue. The man initially walks behind him, accelerates into a run and lunges with a knife.
Rand was stabbed in the chest. He remained conscious after the attack and was transported to a hospital for treatment.
A second recording, timestamped approximately 00:11:20 a.m., shows the attacker approaching Shine at a bus stop. Shine is seen adjusting or putting on a kippah when the man suddenly moves toward him.
The attacker drives Shine backward against the bus shelter and repeatedly stabs him. People nearby move toward the victim as the assailant leaves the immediate area.
The recordings establish that both men were deliberately attacked with a knife. They do not establish the attacker’s complete movements before reaching Golders Green, any communications he may have had or whether anyone else helped plan the assaults.
Emergency personnel treated both victims and took them to hospitals. Rand suffered chest injuries and was discharged in the days after the attack.
Shine remained hospitalized in serious but stable condition in the first public updates. No later official medical bulletin specifying his recovery or discharge date had been located as of June 13.
Police responded at 00:11:16 a.m. after receiving reports that people had been stabbed on Highfield Avenue. Local and armed officers were deployed with ambulance crews.
Footage of the arrest shows the suspect moving through the street while still holding a knife. Officers repeatedly order him to drop the weapon.
Police said the man attempted to stab responding officers. No officer was reported injured.
An officer used incapacitant spray before police deployed a Taser. The suspect fell to the ground but continued holding the knife as officers and people assisting them worked to restrain and handcuff him.
Volunteers from Shomrim, a Jewish community security organization, assisted at the scene. The organization said its members responded after reports that an armed man was attempting to attack Jewish members of the public.
The Metropolitan Police commissioner said the officers reached the scene within minutes and that their actions prevented additional injuries. Counter Terrorism Policing London assumed control of the investigation.
Authorities formally declared the Golders Green assault a terrorist incident later that day. Police described it as violence directed against Jewish people and examined whether the victims had been selected because they were visibly identifiable as Jewish.
Prosecutors later alleged that both victims were clearly identifiable as Orthodox Jewish men through their clothing. That allegation forms part of the pending criminal case and has not yet been tested at trial.
Police arrested Essa Suleiman, 45, on suspicion of attempted murder. He was initially taken to a hospital and later transferred to police custody.
Investigators then connected him to a separate knife attack reported earlier that morning in the Great Dover Street area of Southwark, south London.
Prosecutors allege that Suleiman went to the home of Ishmail Hussein, a friend he had known for approximately 20 years. Hussein allowed him into the property after the defendant had reportedly attempted to call him several times.
Suleiman allegedly tried to stab Hussein in the upper body. Hussein fought off the attack and sustained minor injuries.
Police were called to the Southwark address, searched the surrounding area and checked another location connected to the suspect but did not find him. Prosecutors allege that he later traveled to north London before attacking Rand and Shine.
The Crown Prosecution Service authorized three attempted murder charges against Suleiman. Two relate to Rand and Shine, while the third concerns the alleged attack on Hussein.
Suleiman was also charged with possessing a bladed article in a public place. Court documents describe the weapon as a black-handled knife with a fixed blade.
He appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on May 1 and spoke to confirm his identity. The chief magistrate remanded him in custody and transferred the case to the Central Criminal Court, commonly known as the Old Bailey.
During the hearing, prosecutors described the Southwark and Golders Green incidents as separate attacks committed several hours apart on the same day. They also said another member of the public attempted to disarm the attacker during the assault on Shine.
The court was told that investigators were considering whether additional charges were appropriate concerning the confrontation with that person.
At an Old Bailey hearing on May 15, Suleiman appeared by video link. A plea and trial preparation hearing was scheduled for September 25, 2026.
A provisional three-week trial was scheduled to begin on March 1, 2027. Suleiman remained in custody pending the next hearing.
Counterterrorism investigators confirmed that Suleiman had been referred to the United Kingdom’s Prevent program in 2020. That referral was closed during the same year. Authorities declined to release additional details while the criminal investigation and court proceedings remained active.
Investigators also examined whether the attack was connected to a broader series of antisemitic crimes against Jewish institutions and property in London.
Those incidents included arson attacks against synagogues, Jewish community facilities and ambulances operated by a volunteer emergency service. Police did not establish publicly that the Golders Green stabbings and the earlier fires were committed by the same people.
An online organization that had claimed responsibility for other attacks also asserted that it was behind the Golders Green stabbing. Authorities had not publicly confirmed that claim or released evidence demonstrating that Suleiman acted under the organization’s direction.
The charges against Suleiman remain allegations unless proven in court. The latest public court schedule places his next formal plea hearing in September 2026 and his trial in March 2027.
News story written by Tifa Winters.
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