London Police Arrest 45-Year-Old British Man Born in Somalia After Golders Green Stabbings Declared Terrorism

Metropolitan Police have arrested a 45-year-old British national born in Somalia on suspicion of attempted murder after two Jewish men were stabbed in the Golders Green neighborhood of north London on April 29, 2026. Authorities are treating the attack as a terrorist incident targeting the Jewish community, according to BBC News, Reuters, and The Guardian. The two victims — Shloime Rand, 34, and Moshe Shine, 76 — were both reported in stable condition in hospital.

The Details

Officers responded to reports of stabbings on Highfield Avenue, Golders Green, at approximately 11:16 BST on April 29, according to BBC News. CCTV footage reviewed by the BBC showed the suspect attacking a second victim, Moshe Shine, 76, at a nearby bus stop roughly four minutes after the initial assault on Shloime Rand, 34.

Officers used a Taser to stop the suspect at the scene. He was initially taken to hospital and later discharged, then transferred to a London police station where he remained in custody, Reuters reported. The Metropolitan Police confirmed he is a British national born in Somalia. He has not been publicly named in the BBC, Reuters, or Guardian reporting reviewed for this story.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley said the suspect had a history of serious violence and mental health issues, according to BBC News. Authorities classified the attack as a terrorist incident. Rowley stated: "We're also working with our partners in the security services to ensure we have a full intelligence picture and one of the lines of inquiry is whether this attack was deliberately targeting the Jewish community in London."

Police are also investigating whether the same suspect was involved in a separate knife altercation reported at approximately 08:50 BST on Great Dover Street in Southwark — more than two hours before the Golders Green stabbings, according to BBC News. That earlier incident had been flagged by officers before the north London attack took place. Detectives were working to establish whether the two incidents were connected, according to BBC News.

UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood addressed the suspect's background publicly, telling BBC Breakfast: "He came to the UK lawfully as a child from Somalia." Mahmood is the UK's home secretary responsible for policing and national security matters.

Reuters reported that police were assessing a social media claim of responsibility posted by a pro-Iranian group but had not confirmed its authenticity in any of the reporting reviewed for this story. No formal charges beyond arrest on suspicion of attempted murder had been filed at the time of the reports reviewed.

Context

The stabbings occurred against a backdrop of sustained tension in London's Jewish communities. BBC News, Reuters, and The Guardian all reported that the Golders Green attack followed a series of arson incidents and other attacks on Jewish-linked sites in London in recent weeks, including previous incidents in Golders Green itself.

Commissioner Rowley, speaking near the scene, addressed the cumulative impact on the community directly. "It is completely understandable why Jewish Londoners feel afraid. Jewish communities are understandably angry. There's been too many attacks," he said, according to Reuters.

Golders Green is a district in the London Borough of Barnet with a large and long-established Jewish population. The neighborhood has been among the areas most directly affected by the recent pattern of incidents targeting Jewish-linked sites across the capital. The stabbings prompted public statements from the police commissioner and the home secretary within hours of the arrest.

What's Next

The suspect remained in custody at a London police station in the latest reports reviewed by Zero Signal News. The Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command was leading the investigation, according to BBC News. Detectives were also continuing to assess the Southwark knife altercation as a potential earlier linked incident in the same day's events.

No charging decision had been announced in the sourced reporting reviewed for this story. Police indicated that their intelligence assessment — including the unverified pro-Iranian social media claim of responsibility — remained ongoing, and that further lines of inquiry were active, according to Reuters.