Man charged with attempted murder of 2 Jewish men appears in London court – National
A man accused of trying to kill two Jewish men in a stabbing incident in north London earlier this week appeared in court on Friday, according to British media, including the BBC.
Essa Suleiman, 45, is accused of attacking 34-year-old Shloime Rand and 76-year-old Moshe Shine with a knife in Golders Green, a predominantly Jewish area of London.
Both men were seriously injured in Wednesday's attack, which has been declared a terrorist incident by London's Metropolitan Police, and were treated in hospital.
Suleiman is also accused of trying to kill Ishmail Hussein in a separate stabbing at Hussein's home in Southwark, south London, on the same day as the Golders Green incident.
The suspect has a history of “severe violence and mental health,” Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley said Wednesday at the scene.
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Prosecutors said that after identifying Hussein, Suleiman went to Golders Green to check on Rand before attacking Shine, adding that both men were easily recognizable as Orthodox Jews by their clothing, according to The Guardian.
They said that a member of the public, who was not identified in court, witnessed the attack on Shine and tried to rob the suspect. More charges are being considered against Suleiman in connection with his actions against witnesses, a British newspaper reported.
Frank Ferguson, Head of the Crown Prosecution Service's Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, in a statement on Friday, “We have ordered two charges of attempted murder against Essa Suleiman, and one of possession of a knife, after two men were stabbed in Golders Green, north west London, on Wednesday, April 29.”
“We also approved a charge of attempted murder in a separate incident involving another man on the same day in a different location,” Ferguson added.
A man walks past a closed street after two people were stabbed in the Golders Green area of London, which has a large Jewish community, on April 29, 2026.
AP Photo/Kin Cheung
Hussein and Suleiman had known each other for 20 years, the BBC reported.
Suleiman appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Friday wearing a gray coat and spoke and confirmed his name and address. He did not apply.
The country's official threat level from terrorism has been raised from very serious to very serious after Wednesday's attack.
Severe is the second highest rung on a five-point scale. It means intelligence agencies are looking at the most likely attacks in the next six months.
After the incident, the UK government said the country was facing a state of emergency against the law and promised to increase security in Jewish communities after a series of arson and double stabbings sparked fear and anger among Jews.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his government would “do everything in our power to end this hatred.”
Wednesday's stabbing follows a string of attacks on Jewish properties in north London, including an attempted arson attack on the Finchley Reform Synagogue, the burning of ambulances belonging to a Jewish charity parked in Golders Green in March, an attack on a Jewish charity building in Hendon, which neighbors Golders Green, and a bottle containing “some form of UK car spray” in the United Kingdom. April.
-via files from the Associated Press
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