Two people were injured on Wednesday in a knife attack in the London district of Golders Green, where there is a large Jewish population. The suspect, a 45-year-old man, was arrested for attempted murder, police announced, adding that the condition of the two victims is "stable". She also described the attack as a “terrorist act”.

Published on: 04/29/2026 - 1:37 p.m. Modified on: 04/29/2026 - 9:43 p.m.

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Two Jewish men were injured and a suspect arrested on Wednesday April 29 after a knife attack in north London, where a series of arsons and attempted arsons of an anti-Semitic nature have taken place in recent weeks. The attack was described as a “terrorist act” by London police.

Also read “We must wake up”: a new anti-Semitic attack in London

“There was a stabbing today in Golders Green. The suspect has been arrested,” Jewish organization Community Security Trust (CST) said on X.

A suspect, a 45-year-old man, was arrested shortly after the attack for attempted murder and taken into police custody.

He has “a history of serious violence and psychological problems,” London Police Chief Mark Rowley said.

The two injured people, aged 76 and 34, were stabbed in Golders Green, an area where a large Jewish community lives. They received treatment at the scene before being transported to hospital, where they are in “stable condition,” police said.

“This event has been formally declared a terrorist act,” said Laurence Taylor, head of the anti-terrorism unit within the London police, during a brief speech to the press.

The group "Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya" (Hayi), which has claimed responsibility for several anti-Semitic fires and attempted arson attacks in north London in recent weeks, welcomed the attack and blamed it on its "lone wolves".

The claim of this group, which would be pro-Iran and was little known until a few weeks ago, was greeted with a certain skepticism, in particular because of the different nature of Wednesday's attack.

The “anger” of the Jewish community

“Words of condemnation are no longer enough,” reacted Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, calling on “every institution, community, leader and person in this country to take concrete measures.”

Police Chief Mark Rowley was heckled during his press briefing Wednesday: “Resign,” “Shame on you,” a few people shouted. He said he understood “the anger” of the Jewish community.

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Video surveillance images shared on social networks show a man throwing himself at a resident waiting at a bus stop, and violently attacking him a few moments after the latter put a kippah on his head.

The suspect attempted to stab police officers, who were not injured, and was neutralized with a taser, police said.

King Charles III, on a state visit to the United States, is “deeply concerned, particularly regarding the impact on the Jewish community,” Buckingham Palace said.

“The anti-Semitic attack in Golders Green is absolutely revolting. Attacking our Jewish community is attacking the United Kingdom,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said earlier on X.

The Labor leader thanked the Jewish neighborhood watch group Shomrim North West London, whose members subdued the suspect before police intervened, and the volunteer emergency service at Golders Green, Hatzola, which attended to the injured.

A crisis meeting took place at Downing Street.

Around thirty people arrested

Several fires and attempted arsons have targeted places linked to the Jewish community in the northwest of the British capital in recent weeks, without causing any injuries.

The first of these anti-Semitic attacks took place at the end of March against ambulances in Hatzola, followed by others targeting a synagogue in the Harrow district, and even the premises of a Jewish charity organization.

“The British government can no longer pretend that the situation is under control,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry accused Wednesday on X.

These events have increased the concern of the Jewish community in the United Kingdom, already traumatized by the attack on a synagogue in Manchester on October 2, 2025. Two worshipers were then killed and three others seriously injured.

Also read: Keir Starmer says he is “shocked” by a series of anti-Semitic arsons in London

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has condemned a “horrendous attack on two Jewish Londoners”. "London's Jewish community is the target of a series of shocking anti-Semitic attacks. Anti-Semitism has absolutely no place in society," he wrote on X.

London police have stepped up patrols in the area, where police presence had already been increased in recent weeks, he added.

Police arrested around thirty people in connection with the fires and attempted fires that occurred in London after the start of the Israeli-American offensive against Iran on February 28. These acts were not declared "terrorist" even if the investigations were entrusted to the police anti-terrorism unit.

A wall covered with portraits of demonstrators killed in the repression by the authorities in Iran was the target of a fire on Monday, which did not cause any damage.

AFP and Reuters

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