Two people were stabbed in north London on Wednesday in an attack that police have now formally labeled a terrorist incident, prompting a major emergency response and an ongoing counter-terrorism investigation.
Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, head of the Metropolitan Police’s counter-terrorism squad, said the attack has been officially classified as terrorism as investigators work to determine the motive and whether the Jewish community was deliberately targeted.
According to the Metropolitan Police, officers were called to Highfield Avenue in the Barnet area at around 11.16am following reports of multiple stabbings. Local and armed officers responded along with the London Ambulance Service.
A 45-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and remains in custody, police said. The authorities are trying to determine his nationality and background.
Two men, aged 76 and 34, were treated at the scene for stab wounds before being taken to a hospital, where they remain and “are being cared for”, Taylor said.
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A police officer at the scene where two people were stabbed on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in a London neighborhood with a large Jewish community. A 45-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder over what authorities called an anti-Semitic attack. (Lucy North/PA via AP)
Police said the suspect also attacked responding officers before being subdued with a Taser. No officers were injured.
Counterterrorism officers are leading the investigation and working with security forces to determine the full circumstances and develop a complete intelligence picture, Taylor said.
“While I must emphasize that this investigation is at its early stages, we are working quickly to understand exactly what happened,” said Laurence Taylor, head of the Counter Terrorism Police.
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The stabbing took place in the Barnet area, near Golders Green, which is known for its large Jewish community. Authorities have indicated that the case is being treated as a potential anti-Semitic incident, although the motive has not been confirmed.
The stabbing took place in the Barnet area, near Golders Green, which is known for its large Jewish community. Police said one line of inquiry is whether the attack deliberately targeted London’s Jewish community, although a motive has not been confirmed.
A statement on X of Shomrim, a voluntary neighborhood watch group in Orthodox Jewish communities, said a man “armed with a knife” was seen on Golders Green Road and detained by members before police arrived. The group alleged that the suspect tried to target Jewish members of the public – a detail that police have not independently confirmed.
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Shomrim said two victims were treated by Hatzola, a volunteer emergency medical service.
Police at the scene where two people were stabbed on Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in a London neighborhood with a large Jewish community. A 45-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder over what authorities called an anti-Semitic attack. (Lucy North/PA via AP)
Detective Chief Inspector Luke Williams said officers “quickly tasered and arrested the suspect before he could cause any further damage”, adding that investigators are “considering all possible motives” and will maintain a visible police presence in the area.
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Williams said police are “aware of the significant distress and concern this incident is likely to cause” and will remain in the area to investigate and reassure residents.
The attack comes amid heightened concerns about anti-Semitic incidents in the United Kingdom. Authorities are investigating recent incidents in London but have not made any direct links.
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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the violence, calling attacks on Jewish residents “an attack on Britain,” while London Mayor Sadiq Khan said there is “no place for anti-Semitism” in the city.
Conservative MP Kemi Badenoch said: “The Jewish people in our country are under constant attack. This is no longer a growing pattern. There is an epidemic of violence against the Jewish people. It is now a national emergency and must be treated as such by the government and public authorities.”
Golders Green resident and Holocaust educator Dov Forman described the attack as part of what he sees as a wider and deeply worrying trend.
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Police officers work a cordon at the junction of Golders Green Road and the North Circular Road, in the Golders Green area of north London, on April 29, 2026. (JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
“Once again, terror has been brought to our doorstep here in Golders Green, in the heart of London’s Jewish community,” Forman said. “Earlier today, two visibly Jewish men were stabbed in what is being described as an anti-Semitic attack. For many, this is not seen as an isolated act of violence, but as part of a broader and deeply disturbing pattern. There are growing concerns that extremist rhetoric and Islamist extremism, including calls to ‘globalize the intifada,’ have helped fuel an environment in which hatred of Jews is increasingly normalized, unchecked and dangerously encouraged.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he was “shocked by yet another violent attack on Jews in broad daylight on the streets of London” and called for urgent action.
“No Jew anywhere in the world should be targeted because of their faith,” Herzog said, adding that authorities must act “before the next anti-Semitic attack occurs.”
Authorities urged anyone with information to contact police as the investigation continues.
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According to the Community Security Trust, the number of reported anti-Semitic incidents in Britain has soared since Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 and the subsequent war in Gaza. The group registered 3,700 incidents in 2025, compared to 1,662 in 2022.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
