The London police are investigating the stabbings of two Jewish men on Wednesday as a possible terrorist attack. This was the second assault in the area linked to antisemitism in 72 hours.
NBC News reported that the attack happened in Golders Green, a north London suburb that has a large Jewish population and has seen multiple antisemitic attacks recently. A local Jewish patrol group, Shomrim, said it detained a man after the attack. Authorities have not released the man’s identity or motive but are describing the attack as antisemitic.
The patrol group said members saw the man running down a road holding a knife and “attempting to stab Jewish members of the public.”
Officials said police later arrested a 45-year-old man. They said they were working to “establish the full circumstances and any links to terrorism,” NBC News reported. The New York Times reported that a police counterterrorism unit was leading the investigation.
Police said emergency crews treated the two victims, a man in his 70s and a man in his 30s, at the scene before transporting them to the hospital. They said the victims are expected to recover.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the attack on social media, while thanking the groups who assisted authorities.
“The antisemitic attack in Golders Green is utterly appalling,” Starmer wrote. “Attacks on our Jewish community are attacks on Britain.”
On Monday, police said a wall memorializing Iranian citizens who died protesting the government was vandalized in an arson attack. The wall was in the Golders Green area and had also commemorated the Israelis killed during the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, according to NBC News.
Just over a month before Monday’s suspected arson attack, police reported that a person set fire to four ambulances in the Golders Green neighborhood. Police arrested three men and a teenager in that attack. All four remain in jail with a plea hearing scheduled for August.