Two Jewish men have been stabbed in Golders Green, north London - the Metropolitan Police formally declare it a terrorist incident
Police say they're working with the security services and "one of the lines of inquiry is whether this attack was deliberately targeting the Jewish community in London"
The victims, aged 76 and 34, are in a stable condition
The suspect, aged 45, also attempted to stab officers, police say. He was Tasered and arrested on suspicion of attempted murder - here's the moment he was detained
The Met Police commissioner adds the suspect has a history of serious violence and mental health issues
CCTV seemingly shows the moment before one attack. Police say they are "working to establish" the suspect's nationality and background
"It's just one after another," one member of a Jewish security group tells the BBC. "What's going on? How much more can we take?"
Chief rabbi Ephraim Mirvis has named the stabbing victims as Nachman Moshe ben Chaya Sarah and Moshe Ben Baila in a post on X.
"Please join me in praying for a swift and complete recovery for the victims of today’s attack," he says.
By Thomas Copeland and Kevin Nguyen
BBC Verify has put together a timeline and map of the route taken by the suspect from video and images shared on social media.
We first see the suspect in CCTV footage taken on Highfield Avenue, timestamped at 11:15 BST.
He is jogging along the pavement towards Golders Green Road when he appears to attack a man, who he chases out of view.
According to the Metropolitan Police, officers responded to reports of people being stabbed in Highfield Avenue at 11:16. Police later said two men – aged 76 and 34 – were stabbed on this road, although footage appeared to show the second stabbing was on nearby Golders Green Road.
The next clip, filmed from a car driving north along Golders Green Road, shows the suspect chasing after a man on the pavement.
CCTV footage taken to the north-west on Golders Green Road - timestamped to 11:20 - shows the suspect approaching a bus stop and repeatedly attacking a man waiting there, who he then pushes on to the road and out of view.
In a picture taken about 90m (300ft) further along the road we get the first glimpse of what appears to be a knife being held by the suspect.
Finally, we have verified multiple videos and images of the suspect being detained by police who use two Tasers to force him to the ground and arrest him.
Police can then be seen administering CPR and later footage shows the suspect being lifted on a stretcher into an ambulance.
Gabriela Pomeroy
Live reporter
I have spoken to Daniela, a 29-year-old stay-at-home mum who lives in the Hendon neighbourhood.
“I was there at the attack today,” she says. “I was walking to the butcher and the next thing I know we hear screaming, ‘he’s got a knife run’.”
"A man in a car told me someone had been stabbed. That's when we knew to run. And we started seeing people running.”
"It was terrifying," she says.
“At that moment we weren’t sure what was happening.”
Daniela says she and others took shelter in the nearby bookshop and saw the attacker go past going towards the North Circular road. "He was wearing light grey trousers and a big backpack running past," she
“All the people were pointing at him. We were a group of mums with buggies. The shop owner locked the door. We were speechless. It is scary that as Jews living in the area we just don’t feel safe anymore."
The younger victim of today's attack has been described as "a terrific guy".
The victims, aged 76 and 34, are in a stable condition, police have said.
Eli V, 42, says the younger victim is from north London. "We are a very close community. We know everyone," he says. "You don’t find this community anywhere else in the world."
He adds that the community feels insecure. "My wife is scared to leave home," he says.
Alex Partridge
Politics reporter
Image source, PA MediaConservative leader Kemi Badenoch says the safety of Jewish people is now a "national emergency".
Speaking to broadcasters while visiting the scene, she said, "this is something which we have known has been escalating in terms of terrorist attacks and antisemitic incidents, targeting Jews" and the community is "absolutely terrified".
"Communities where there are large numbers of Jews need an increased police presence".
She said there should be government funding for Shomrim, the volunteer organisation who responded to the initial reports of the stabbing - which is voluntarily funded by local communities - and more money for the Community Security Trust.
"The government have said they want to do more, that is one small thing they could do, what has been happening so far as not been enough," she said.
Image source, PoolLondon Mayor Sadiq Khan says "ordinary Londoners have a responsibility to show allyship and solidarity to Jewish people".
"I've never experienced this level of attacks on Jewish people across our country," he says.
Khan says he has spoken to police and the local community today to see "what more we can do and we must do".
He repeats that Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley has confirmed there will be more policing.
"The key thing that he and I are determined to do is to make this permanent," Khan says.
"We need a permanent increased visibility in this community to deter bad people and terrorists from trying to attack this community."
According to figures from the Community Security Trust (CST), a charity which monitors antisemitism in the UK, antisemitic incidents have risen sharply over the past decade.
The CST defines incidents broadly, covering violent assaults, threats, damage to property and abusive behaviour, both online and offline.
The organisation has previously linked surges in reports to periods of heightened tension in the Middle East, as well as increased online activity and reporting awareness.
A particularly pronounced spike is visible in 2023, when reported incidents exceeded 4,000 – by far the highest level on record.
Lucy Manning
Reporting from Golders Green
Image source, PA MediaSir Ephraim Mervis in Golders Green earlier
The chief rabbi has told BBC News that visibly Jewish people are not safe on British streets after the attack in Golders Green.
"I'm sad to say that today's event proves that if you are visibly Jewish you're not safe, and far more needs to be done," says Sir Ephraim Mervis.
He says he wants to hear British voices across the country stand with the Jewish community and condemn these attacks.
"It's a sustained effort to terrorise the Jewish community, which will not succeed, because we're a strong and resilient community.
"We face these kind of attacks and these incidents with great fortitude. However, this cannot be allowed to continue."
He says much more needs to be done.
"We need to tackle not just symptoms, but also the causes. We need to recognise that state-sponsored terrorism on the streets of our country is simply unacceptable."
Rajini Vaidyanathan
Reporting from Golders Green
Image source, EPAMet Commissioner Mark Rowley has spoken separately to the BBC after his statement to the press.
Asked whether there is any indication this attack was linked to Iran, he replies: "It is too early to say whether this is an individual inspired or someone directly encouraged - of course the inquiry will work its way through that."
He continues to say police have seen more than 20 Iran-generated plots on the streets of the UK in recent years, which counter-terror teams working with MI5 have foiled.
Some, he adds, were intended to be deadly, and some were targeted against Jewish communities.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood was also asked earlier whether there was a suspected link to Iran. She replied it was "very early to say" what the motivations may have been and that it would be "improper to speculate".
"As soon as more facts are established, then we will of course be keeping the public updated," she said.
We can now bring you footage, filmed on a mobile phone, of the moment police detained the suspect in Golders Green.
The footage shows the suspect approaching the officers. One officer Tasers him, sending the suspect to the floor, while shouting at him to drop the knife.
While the suspect is on the floor, the officers kick the suspect in the head as they try to disarm him.
Earlier, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley said the officers "confronted a man they believed to be a terrorist, who refused to show his hands, who was violent and continued to pose a clear threat.
"These were not armed officers, and they feared that he was carrying an explosive device.
"Using only their training, their courage and their Tasers, they managed to detain him whilst he continued to try and attack and stab them."
Moment suspect is Tasered and arrested by police officers
Image source, ReutersBuckingham Palace has just shared a statement, which reads: "His Majesty is being kept fully informed and is naturally deeply concerned, in particular about the impact for the Jewish community.
"His thoughts and prayers are with the two individuals who were injured and offers his heartfelt gratitude to those who so selflessly rushed to their aid."
Dominic Casciani
Home and legal correspondent
Counter-terrorism police officers have a tried-and-tested system for assessing whether a violent incident counts as terrorism.
Put simply, they look at the initial evidence and work out whether the act of violence was carried out in an attempt to influence the government, or to intimidate the public, or a section of it, in order to advance a political, religious, racial or ideological cause. That is the legal definition of terrorism set out in our law.
But in recent years the police have hesitated from making speedy calls - partly because of the outcome of the 2021 bomb blast outside the Liverpool Women’s Hospital. Police called it terrorism - but ultimately there was no evidence the man had extremist views - and plenty that he had been very mentally unwell.
After that, counter terrorism chiefs indicated that sometimes they will need to take longer to make the call one way or another.
The fact that they have called this terrorism so quickly today indicates very strongly that they believe they have evidence that points to an alleged “mindset”. That can often be something the suspect has said, the type of victim, or material found on their phone or computer.
Image source, PoolThe home secretary says the government will "strain every sinew" to keep the Jewish community safe following this morning's attack.
Shabana Mahmood says she will not “tolerate a situation where our Jewish citizens have to lead smaller lives” to keep themselves safe.
Ministers have already been taking action on security and ensuring Jewish community sites are well protected, she says, adding that "an enhanced police presence" will continue.
"We will go further," she tells reporters, including on action to tackle the "root causes" of antisemitism in society.
On the police investigation, Mahmood says the initial circumstances of the attack suggest it is correct to designate it as a terrorist incident.
In the last hour, we've had updates from both the Head of Counter Terrorism Policing, Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor and the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley. Here's what we've learned:
Image source, ReutersAfter Rowley, Labour MP for Finchley and Golders Green, Sarah Sackman, says what happened on the streets of Golders Green today is "appalling".
"An attack on Britain's Jews is an attack on Britain itself," she says.
She adds that she has just been with the home secretary, and the Prime Minister has called a Cobra meeting.
"We need to hear from the moderate majority who want to root this sort of hate out of our communities," she says.
Image source, PA MediaRowley is asked whether visibly Jewish people are safe on the streets of London.
He responds by saying today's attack was "awful" and it is "completely understandable" why Jewish Londoners feel afraid. He says that is why "so much extra policing" is being put out and the force will look at what more it can do.
He is asked what he says to chants of "shame on you" which could be heard during his response.
He says he has received "so many thanks from Jewish communities" in recent weeks over the extra policing that is done, and people recognise officers going above and beyond, such as those who responded today.
Referring to a rise in "racist and antisemitic hate crime", Rowley says police are aware that some people are encouraged or paid to commit acts of violence by foreign organisations and hostile states. Though he says he can't comment on any live investigations.
He warns if someone is acting out of hatred, racism or anti-semitism "we will come after you".
He further points to increased police activity in recent weeks - including additional shifts to "protect Londoners".
Rajini Vaidyanathan
Reporting from Golders Green
We can hear heckling from the crowd as Rowley takes questions.
"Shame on you" people chant, while others are calling on him to resign.
It's hard to even hear the commissioner as people shout over him.
Rowley goes on by saying that antisemitism is "fuelled by hateful and extremist ideologies".
"It comes from hostile states, the extreme right, and the extreme left. These are terrorist and hateful belief systems but they're all rooted in racism," he says.
The commissioner says it's time to ask some difficult questions.
"Why don't we see more condemnation of the attacks we've seen in recent weeks? Where are all the voices against hate? And where is the solidarity with fellow Londoners who are being targeted simply for who they are?"
He adds that debate about international affairs should never be allowed to "legitimise antisemitism or violence against British Jews here on the streets of London", and "when that line is blurred, attacks become more likely".
"This is an attack on one community and an attack on one community is an attack on all london's communities," Rowley continues.
"This was an attack on Londoners. It was an attack on British Jews.
"Too many Jewish people in this country feel they have to make choices that no other Briton ever has to make.
"They have to chose what they dress, where they go or how visibly they live their lives. That is completely unacceptable and has gone on for far too long."
Image source, Getty ImagesMark Rowley and Sarah Sackman speaking to the media in Golders Green
