Authorities in the UK have said the stabbing attack on two Jewish men in north London is being treated as a terror attack and are investigating whether the Jewish community was deliberately targeted, Police Commissioner Laurence Taylor confirmed outside Scotland Yard, London’s police headquarters.
The attacks took place in Golders Green, a London area with a large Jewish population, on Wednesday morning.
The Metropolitan Police said the attack left two men, 34 and 76, in hospital with stab wounds and a 45-year-old man has been arrested for attempted murder.
The suspect has a history of “severe violence and mental health issues,” Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley said at the scene, adding, “My first thoughts are two British Jews, attacked while going about their daily lives, should be able to do so freely and safely in their own community.”
“I also want to pay tribute to my officers, who were on the scene within minutes, and their actions undoubtedly prevented more injuries and saved lives,” he continued.
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Police said they were investigating whether the stabbing was related to the recent burning of several ambulances belonging to the Jewish charity Hatzolah in Golders Green and synagogues and other Jewish sites in the British capital.
“Our highly experienced police team is working with the Metropolitan Police to move this investigation forward as quickly as possible and find out what happened,” Taylor said.
A man walks past a closed road after two people were stabbed in Golders Green, which has a large Jewish community, in London, Wednesday, April 29, 2026.
AP Photo/Kin Cheung
“Now, that community is strong, but it will be incredibly worried to see and hear what happened today, especially because of other incidents in recent weeks. And that concern will not only be felt in the capital, but in communities and villages across the UK,” he added.
Politicians and Jewish leaders have condemned this violent incident.
“An attack on our Jewish community is an attack on Britain,” said Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the attack was “horrific” and thanked the emergency services for their quick response to the incident, including volunteers from Hatzolah and Shomrim, who were the ambulance service whose cars were set on fire in a previous antisemitic incident in Golders Green.
Shomrim is an independent, volunteer Jewish community watchdog that operates in major cities around the world, including London, New York and Toronto.
Shomrim said the suspect “was seen running on Golders Green Road armed with a knife and trying to stab the Jews of the community.” It said the suspect was arrested by members of Shomrim and arrested by the police who used a gun on him.
In a statement written by X, Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis said that words of criticism are no longer enough and called for “strong measures from every institution, every community, every leader, and every respectable person in our country.”
“This is hatred that we must face together,” he concluded.
Wednesday’s stabbing follows a string of attacks on Jewish properties in the area, including the attempted arson of the Finchley Reform Synagogue, north London, 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 Kerantgue north of Sygona in the United States. west of London in early April, reports the BBC.
— via files from The Associated Press
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