A man named Essa Suleiman has denied trying to kill two Jewish men during a knife attack in Golders Green, north London. He is accused of stabbing Shloime Rand and Moshe Shine on 29 April. Suleiman is also charged with attempting to murder his friend Ishmail Hussein at Hussein’s flat in Southwark just hours earlier, which he denies. Suleiman appeared at the Old Bailey, London’s central criminal court, via a video link on Friday and pleaded not guilty to all charges. According to prosecutors, Suleiman allegedly traveled from an address in southeast London to Hussein’s home and tried to stab him when he opened the door. After that, he is said to have taken public transport to Golders Green, where he carried out a second knife attack. There, he is accused of first stabbing Shloime Rand, who suffered a punctured lung, and then attacking Moshe Shine, who was injured in the neck. Deanna Heer KC, representing the prosecution, noted during an earlier hearing that both victims were “obviously members of the orthodox Jewish community by the way they were dressed at the time.” The court heard that Shloime Rand, 34, was studying at a synagogue in Highfield Avenue when the alleged attacker approached him and stabbed him once in the chest. Suleiman is then accused of attacking Moshe Shine, 76, who suffered multiple stab wounds and was taken to the hospital. The attack reportedly ended when a member of the public intervened to try to disarm Suleiman and take the knife from him. Emergency services arrived shortly after. In addition to the murder charges, Suleiman has been charged with one count of possessing a bladed article in a public place, which he also denies. A trial date has been set for 1 March 2027, where the court will hear more evidence and determine the defendant’s guilt or innocence.