Golders Green terror suspect is named as Somalia-born Essa Suleiman who had history of violence and was referred to anti-extremism Prevent scheme
The name of the person suspected of stabbing two Jews in Golders Green has been revealed as Essa Suleiman.
Police said Suleiman, 45, was a British national born in Somalia and had a long history of violence and mental health problems.
He was referred to Prevent in 2020, but the case was closed later that year.
It is understood that Süleyman previously worked as a security guard at the school.
Police across the UK have increased patrols in response to the attack in which two Jewish men – Shloime Rand, 34, and Moshe Ben Baila, 76, locally called Moshe Shine – were taken to hospital after being stabbed on Golders Green Road.
Police said Essa Suleiman, 45, was a Somali-born British national and had a long history of violence and mental health problems.
While one of the police officers managed to throw the knife, another police officer and bystanders took control of the man’s arm.
CCTV footage reportedly shows the moment Moshe Shine was stabbed while waiting for a bus
The stabbings are the latest in a series of attacks on Jewish sites in recent weeks, prompting calls for urgent action and accusations that the Government is not doing enough to tackle anti-Semitism.
Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis called for ‘meaningful action’ to tackle the ‘root causes’ of antisemitism, while the Board of Deputies of British Jews said antisemitism must be ‘confronted, punished and deterred with the full force of the state’.
Iran-linked terrorist group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyye (HAYI) claimed responsibility for the attack yesterday, but intelligence sources claimed it was ‘opportunistic’. The group offered no evidence that it was behind the stabbings.
Protesters in Golders Green today showed their anger at Sir Keir when he finally visited the scene of the attack 24 hours after it took place, calling him a ‘coward’ for not confronting them.
One of the victims, 34-year-old Shloime Rand, said from her hospital bed today that she blamed the Government and said it was a ‘miracle’ that she survived being stabbed in the chest.
At lunchtime, the Labor leader’s police convoy whisked him away from the mob. Instead he was taken to a closed-door meeting at the new headquarters of the local Jewish ambulance service, Hatzollah.
Golders Green local accountant and protester Mendy Muster, 23, told the Daily Mail: ‘We all think he’s a coward for not responding to us directly. He wants to be held responsible.
‘He knows he let us down. He knows it’s his fault and that it took too long. Let alone today, it should have happened yesterday too. ‘He’s not doing enough, he’s not blocking anything he’s responding to’.
Sir Keir held a roundtable discussion attended by Hatzola, as well as first responders and leaders from Shomrim, a volunteer Jewish security group.
He was joined by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Finchley and Golders Green MP Sarah Sackman, as well as Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley.
This is breaking news. More to follow.
