Police bodycam footage from Golders Green terrorist attack released
Police have released bodycam footage of an arrest being carried out following an attack in Golders Green they are treating as terrorism.
Two Jewish men, Shilome Rand, 34, and 76-year-old Mosche Ben Baila, were taken to hospital yesterday (29 April) after being stabbed in the London area.
Both men were treated at the scene for stab wounds and taken to hospital where they are in a stable condition.
A 45-year-old suspect has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, with the Metropolitan Police saying he is a British national born in Somalia who was initially taken to hospital but was later discharged and taken into custody.
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The attack was formally declared a terrorist incident and police have searched an address in south east London as part of their investigation.
The Met said that yesterday their officers were called to an address at Great Dover Street, Southwark, at around 8:50am after a suspect armed with a knife had an 'altercation' with the person living there before leaving.
The person living at the address suffered minor injuries and police believe the suspect arrested on suspicion of attempted murder in Golders Green is the same suspect in that case.
At around 11:15am yesterday CCTV on Highfield Avenue appeared to spot the suspect jogging on the pavement in the direction of Golders Green Road before appearing to attack a man, police say a minute later they responded to calls about people being stabbed on Highfield Avenue.
Further CCTV from 11:20am showed the suspect approaching a bus stop and appearing to attack someone there, while the police bodycam footage of them making an arrest is timestamped at 11:23am.
In the video police taser the suspect and handcuff him, as well as get the knife out of his hands as they repeatedly shouted 'drop the knife'.
Sir Mark Rowley, Met Police Commissioner, said the suspect had a history of serious violence and mental health problems.
Shilome Rand, one of the stabbing victims, told ITV he was first told he'd need emergency surgery but his wound was not as bad as doctors first feared.
He said: "This fellow came towards me and just stabbed me in the chest… I jumped back, so thankfully it was only one stab. It could have taken my life.
"All afternoon I’ve had calls and texts coming in, people are really afraid, people are uncomfortable walking in the streets. People are blaming obviously the Government.
"You know they aren’t doing anything about what’s going on for the past few months. Really our community is suffering from these kind of attacks and now they’re trying to take people’s lives."
Speaking after the attack UK Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “Let’s be frank, this is not an isolated incident. There’s been a series of antisemitic attacks and I know first hand the anxiety that that is causing in the community and concern.
“I was at Kenton synagogue last week where I heard a lot about that level of anxiety. It’ll be worse after today.
“We’re very much in touch with the community, and I’ll visit as soon as possible.”
Police have asked anyone who may have information who could assist with their investigation to call them in confidence on 0800 555 111, or report it via www.gov.uk/ACT.
Joe Harker