On the afternoon of Jan. 29, a knife-wielding man standing outside a Kosher marketplace in Golders Green was filmed as he shouted “anti-semitic abuse” a staff and shoppers. The man reportedly threatened people, waving his large knife around, until someone called the police.
In another video, the same man was filmed on the sidewalk at a short distance away from the Golders Green supermarket, where he was being wrestled to the floor by police officers and a couple of public members. Both videos were uploaded on X (formerly Twitter) shortly after the incident.
The Met Police’s statement read that the incident took place around 1:30 PM and there had been no reported injuries. The 24-year-old man was arrested right after he was captured in the video, with his knife reportedly being recovered at the scene.
According to the Standard, the officers are not treating the incident as terror-related, as the man in question is being investigated.
‘The knife-wielding man was arrested within 10 minutes’ said the Met Police
Speaking about the Golders Green incident, Scott Barden-Marshall, the Met inspector from north-west London’s local policing team said that he was aware of how the incident would “cause concern in the community.” He added:
“Officers responded quickly and made an arrest within 10 minutes. An investigation is now underway.”
The Community Security Trust (CST) – a charity protecting the British Jewish people from threats of anti-semitism – also took to X (formerly Twitter) to speak about the Golders Green incident.
CST thanked the Met Police for their “swift response,” and urged the community to stay vigilant, saying that the incident was “now over.”
Meanwhile, a netizen found two members of the public who intervened with the knife-wielding man in an effort to protect others, and praised them on X (formerly Twitter). One of them was a shelf-stacker at the supermarket, and the other was a teenager.
Here are the tweets with their pictures:
Netizens call the Golders Green a "horrifying" incident
Several netizens have taken to X (formerly Twitter) to react to the Golders Green incident. Some have called it "horrifying," blaming the UK government for the incident, while others are expressing their distaste about being "asked not to speculate" the motive behind it.
Here are some of the reactions:
While the arrest was made on Monday, the Mets are yet to reveal any details about the knife-yielding man. All that is currently known is that he is a bearded man with a white Islamic cap atop his head.