Man pleads not guilty over Golders Green stabbings

Friday, 25 September 2026 14:50

A man accused of stabbing two Jewish men in Golders Green has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder.

Essa Suleiman, 45, allegedly targeted Shloime Rand, 34, and Norman Shine, 76, during a knife rampage in north London on 29 April this year.

He also pleaded not guilty to a third count of attempted murder concerning an unconnected incident earlier the same day.

Before heading to Golders Green, it is alleged he attacked his friend of 20 years, Ishmail Hussein, at his home in Southwark, south London.

Suleiman also pleaded not guilty to possessing a black-handled knife in a public place.

The court was told that the incident came to an end when another member of the public intervened to try to disarm the defendant and take the knife from him.

Emergency services then arrived.

Police originally said the 29 April incident was being investigated as suspected terrorism, but prosecutor Deanna Heer said on Friday that the Crown Prosecution Service had concluded that there was ⁠no sufficient evidence to say the stabbings had a terrorist connection.

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A provisional three-week trial at the Old Bailey was scheduled from 1 March, 2027.

The stabbings in north London followed a spate of incidents targeting Jewish premises in the same area, home to a ⁠large Jewish population.

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