By Elena Giuliano
Updated on: May 1, 2026 / 3:12 AM EDT / CBS News
The U.K. on Thursday raised its national threat level from “substantial” to “severe” after a stabbing the previous day wounded two Jewish men in Golders Green, a residential area in northwest London. Officials pointed to a rising threat from Islamist and extreme right-wing terrorism.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood called the attack “abhorrent” and a “vile act of terrorism,” saying she understands the concern, especially within the Jewish community.
Metropolitan Police said Friday that Essa Suleiman, 45, has been charged with two counts of attempted murder in connection with the Golders Green stabbings. Suleiman, a British national born in Somalia who lives in London and arrived in the U.K. as a child, also faces a third attempted murder charge for an earlier Wednesday incident elsewhere in London that left a man with minor injuries. The attack has been declared a terrorist incident.
“The increase in threat comes following yesterday’s stabbing in Golders Green in North London, but it is not solely a result of that attack. The terrorist threat level in the UK has been rising for some time,” the government said.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan expressed solidarity with the Jewish community and said authorities are doing everything possible to protect the city. He noted that the “severe” rating is the second-highest level of security preparedness in the U.K. and means an attack is highly likely.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and London’s Met Police Commissioner Mark Rowley attend a meeting of criminal justice agencies following the Golders Green attack, in London, April 30, 2026.
Dan Kitwood/Pool via REUTERS
The stabbing follows an arson attack a month earlier in the same area that targeted four emergency response vehicles belonging to an independent Jewish community ambulance service.
Prime Minister Starmer visited Golders Green and met emergency responders on Thursday as some residents protested and urged stronger protection for the community. “No one here is shocked or surprised that this has happened,” Dov Forman, a 22-year-old author and activist, told CBS News. “We all knew after previous attacks that this was not a question of if there would be another attack, but simply when.”
Inaya Folarin Iman contributed to this report.