North London stabbing of two Jewish men declared terrorist attack
Two Jewish men, aged 76 and 34, were stabbed in north-west London as police declared the attack terrorism and linked it to a wider antisemitic threat.
Police treated the stabbing as a terrorist attack after two Jewish men, aged 76 and 34, were attacked at 11:16am on Wednesday on Highfield Avenue in Barnet, near Golders Green. A 45-year-old man was Tasered by armed officers at the scene, arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and remained in custody as Counter Terrorism Policing London took charge of the investigation.
Speaking from the scene, Sir Mark Rowley said he was at "the scene of a terrorist attack in north-west London" and described it as "another horrendous act of violence directed at our Jewish communities." The Metropolitan Police said the assault would shock and anger people across London and the country, turning a daytime street attack into a test of the capital’s security response and the protection of its Jewish communities.
The stabbing came against a backdrop of escalating concern in north-west London. Police said it followed a series of arson attacks linked to the Jewish community, including the 23 March fire at Hatzola in Golders Green, when four ambulances from the volunteer-led service were set on fire. Officers also said recent linked incidents had targeted Jewish- and Israeli-linked premises and a Persian-language media organisation, reinforcing fears that the violence was not isolated.
Investigators have said they are alive to the threat of Iranian state aggression in the UK, a warning that now hangs over a cluster of cases stretching from Golders Green to Kensington Gardens. The Met said specialist officers were providing protective security advice and support to community venues and businesses, as police and Jewish community leaders confront a climate in which each new attack deepens anxiety well beyond the immediate scene.
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