Why was he free to roam the streets with a knife? Somali-born Golders Green suspect was once jailed ‘indefinitely’ for stabbing police officer and referred to anti-terror scheme
The Golders Green terror suspect was previously jailed for stabbing a police officer and his dog, it emerged on Thursday.
Essa Suleiman, 45, was arrested on Wednesday after two men were stabbed in broad daylight in the Jewish area.
Now it can be revealed that the Somali-born British national was jailed indefinitely in 2008 for the knife attack on the officer.
Following his release, the former security guard and interpreter was referred to Britain’s anti-radicalisation scheme, Prevent, in 2020 as a potential risk to the public.
But within months, his case was closed after it was decided he did not pose a risk of launching a terror attack.
The authorities now face questions about why the suspect was left free to prowl the streets.
On Thursday night, detectives were still quizzing Suleiman, who is accused of attempting to murder Shloime Rand, 34, and Moshe Shine, 76.
In an unprecedented intervention, Britain’s top police officer described the suspect, within hours of his arrest, as a ‘dangerous man’, after revealing he had a history of ‘serious violence and mental health issues’.
Scotland Yard Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley praised his officers who tackled the suspect, saying ‘apprehending violent and dangerous criminals is a messy task which may appear shocking to observers with little experience of policing in the real world’.
He spoke as security chiefs raised the UK terror threat level from ‘substantial’ to ‘severe’, meaning an attack in the next six months is ‘highly likely’.
The Home Secretary announced the decision after a series of attacks on the Jewish community in recent weeks, culminating in the double stabbing.
The threat level has not been raised since the Liverpool Women’s Hospital bombing in November 2021, when a failed asylum seeker detonated an improvised explosive device, killing himself and injuring a taxi driver.
