Essa Suleiman Remanded Over Golders Green Terror Stabbings

A 45-year-old man has been remanded in custody after appearing in court charged with the attempted murders of three people, including the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green, an incident which police have declared a terrorist-related attack.

Essa Suleiman, 45, is accused of attacking Ishmail Hussein at a flat in Southwark, south London, before travelling to Golders Green, in north-west London, where he is alleged to have stabbed Shloime Rand, 34, and 76-year-old Norman Shine shortly after 11am on Wednesday.

Prosecutors told the court both men were clearly identifiable as Orthodox Jews by their clothing at the time of the attack.

The court heard that another member of the public, who was not named, attempted to intervene and disarm Suleiman. Prosecutors indicated that further charges are being considered for Suleiman in relation to his interaction with this man.

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Suleiman also faces a separate charge of possessing a knife in a public place in Golders Green.

He is additionally charged with the attempted murder of Ishmail Hussein, a man he had known for around 20 years, in the earlier Southwark incident.

Suleiman appeared in the dock on Friday wearing a grey tracksuit and spoke only to confirm his name and address. He did not enter any pleas.

The chief magistrate, Paul Goldspring, remanded him in custody and sent the case to the Old Bailey. He will next appear there on 15 May for a preliminary hearing.

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The court was told Suleiman was arrested after officers deployed a stun gun. Prosecutors said he suffered a “medical episode”during his arrest, requiring hospital treatment before he was discharged and taken into custody.

Suleiman is said to have been a patient of the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. He was born in Somalia and entered the UK lawfully as a child in the early 1990s, later becoming a British citizen.

One of the victims of the Golders Green attack, Mr Rand, has since been discharged from hospital.

Following the incidents, the Metropolitan Police declared the Golders Green stabbing a terrorist-related attack. Suleiman remains remanded in custody ahead of his next appearance at the Old Bailey.

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