Man appears in court charged with attempted murder of two Jewish men
BBCA man has appeared in court charged with attempted murder after attacking two Jewish men in Golders Green, north London, and another man in the south of the city.
Essa Suleiman, 45, is accused of attacking Shloime Rand, 34, and Moshe Shine, 76 in the north London neighbourhood on Wednesday.
It is also alleged Suleiman attempted to murder Ishmail Hussein in a knife attack at Hussein's flat in Southwark, south London, earlier on the same day. Hussein had known Suleiman for around 20 years.
He also faces a charge of possessing a knife in a public place in Golders Green.
Suleiman appeared in the dock on Friday wearing a police-issued grey sweatshirt and trousers. He appeared to have a bruising around his eyes.
He stood to confirm his name and date of birth, but did not enter any pleas.
There are legal restrictions on reporting the exact address, as it is supported housing for mental health patients in south London.
Prosecutor Emma Harraway told the court that Suleiman had a medical episode while he was arrested and was subsequently taken to hospital. He was treated and discharged some hours later and then transported to Hammersmith custody suite.
The court also heard that one of the victims of Wednesday's attack, Shloime Rand, has now been discharged from hospital.
Suleiman had been a patient at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust.
He was born in Somalia but came to the UK lawfully as a child in the early 1990s and is now a British citizen, officials have said.
His case has been sent to the Old Bailey where he will next appear on 15 May for a preliminary hearing. He remains in custody.
On Thursday, the UK's terror threat level was raised to severe following the stabbing.
The government said the threat level had been rising "for some time", adding that the increased level was "not solely" as a result of the incident earlier this week.
