London: Two people have been stabbed in a London neighbourhood with a large Jewish community, with a suspect taken into custody.
Political leaders condemned the stabbing, which follows a string of arson attacks on synagogues and other Jewish sites in the city. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, “Attacks on our Jewish community are attacks on Britain.”
The security organisation Shomrim said a suspect “was seen running along Golders Green Road armed with a knife and attempting to stab Jewish members of the public” on Wednesday morning.
It said the suspect was detained by Shomrim members before being arrested by police, who used a stun gun on the man.
Another organisation, the Community Security Trust, also said a man had been arrested after a knife attack. There was no immediate confirmation from police.
Starmer said in the House of Commons that the reported incident was “deeply concerning.”
“There is now a police investigation and I think we all need to do everything we can to support that investigation and be absolutely clear in our determination to deal with any of these offences, the like of which we have seen too much recently,” he said.
The incident follows arson attacks in recent weeks targeting Jewish sites in London, including a synagogue and a charity’s ambulances in Golders Green.
Counterterror officers are investigating whether the arson attacks were the work of Iranian proxies.
No one was injured in the arson incidents, which all happened within a few miles of each other. Several people, ranging in age from teenagers to those in their 40s, have been arrested and charged.
AP