LONDON (AP) — A 45-year-old man was charged Friday with attempted murder in the stabbings of two Jewish men in London, the latest in a string of attacks that have sparked fear and anger in Britain's Jewish community.
Police said Essa Suleiman faces two counts of the charge related to the attack in Golders Green. He also faces a third count of attempted murder over an incident elsewhere in the city earlier the same day that left a man with minor injuries.
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Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, center, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley, right, and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, 2nd left, speak with members of the Jewish community during a visit to Golders Green, north west London, Thursday April 30, 2026, following an attack on Wednesday in which two men were stabbed. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool via AP)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, center, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley, right, and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, 2nd left, speak with members of the Jewish community during a visit to Golders Green, north west London, Thursday April 30, 2026, following an attack on Wednesday in which two men were stabbed. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool via AP)
Police on duty outside Golders Green tube station in London, Thursday, April 30, 2026, near the scene where two people were recently stabbed in the Golders Green neighbourhood, that has a large Jewish community. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Two men walk in London, Thursday, April 30, 2026, near the scene where two people were recently stabbed in the Golders Green neighbourhood, that has a large Jewish community. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
People look out of a window near the scene where two people were stabbed the previous day in the Golders Green neighbourhood, which has a large Jewish community, in London, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Police have labeled the Golders Green attack an act of terrorism.
Police say Suleiman was referred in 2020 to the government’s Prevent program, which tries to steer individuals away from extremism. The police force said his file was closed later the same year, and didn’t disclose the reason for the referral.
Suleiman, a Somalia-born British citizen who lives in London, is due to make his first court appearance later Friday.
The British government pledged to tackle antisemitism after the stabbings in an area in north London that is an epicenter of Britain’s Jewish community. The victims, aged 34 and 76, were seriously injured. One has since been discharged from a hospital and the other is in stable condition.
The stabbings followed a string of arson attacks on synagogues and other Jewish sites in London in recent weeks.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that his government would increase security for the Jewish community and “do everything in our power to stamp this hatred out.”
Britain’s official terror threat level was raised from substantial to severe after Wednesday’s stabbing attack. Severe is the second-highest rung on a five-point scale and means intelligence agencies consider an attack highly likely in the next six months.
The government said the change was not due solely to the Golders Green attack but also due to increased danger “from Islamist and extreme right-wing terrorist threat from individuals and small groups based in the U.K.”
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, center, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley, right, and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, 2nd left, speak with members of the Jewish community during a visit to Golders Green, north west London, Thursday April 30, 2026, following an attack on Wednesday in which two men were stabbed. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool via AP)
Police on duty outside Golders Green tube station in London, Thursday, April 30, 2026, near the scene where two people were recently stabbed in the Golders Green neighbourhood, that has a large Jewish community. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Two men walk in London, Thursday, April 30, 2026, near the scene where two people were recently stabbed in the Golders Green neighbourhood, that has a large Jewish community. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
People look out of a window near the scene where two people were stabbed the previous day in the Golders Green neighbourhood, which has a large Jewish community, in London, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Three years after Nikola Jokic led the Denver Nuggets to the NBA championship, the peak looked awfully distant for the team from the Mile High City and the three-time MVP award winner.
Ousted in six games by the Minnesota Timberwolves in their first-round series, the Nuggets trudged into the offseason with plenty of questions to answer about their ability to remain a true title contender in the stacked Western Conference. For the first time in four years, the Nuggets failed to make it to May.
“We just lost in the first round, so I think we are far away,” said Jokic, who had 28 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds in the 110-98 loss to the Timberwolves on Thursday night.
Four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert deftly neutralized Jokic during the series, even dominating him at times with his long arms, relentless effort and superb positioning.
Jokic found some rhythm and spark in the last two games, but his sidekick Jamal Murray had a rough series. The first-time All-Star, who played in 75 games during the regular season for his most in eight years, was similarly smothered by Timberwolves villain Jaden McDaniels. Murray went just 4 for 17 from the floor and with a game-worst minus-18 rating.
“When I get the looks that I need, they don’t go down,” Murray said. “So that’s the frustrating part, not showing up when my team needed me the most tonight. I feel like if I would’ve played a little bit better we would’ve had that game.”
Missing forwards Aaron Gordon to a calf injury for three of the six games and Peyton Watson for the whole series to a hamstring strain sure didn't help. Cameron Johnson made a late push from the 3-point line, pitching in 27 points in Game 5, but there wasn't enough production beyond Jokic and Murray in this series for the Nuggets to advance, even against a Timberwolves team that was severely short-handed in the backcourt. And their pick-and-roll synergy was largely absent too.
“They were missing a bunch of guys tonight, and they still won. So did we need them? Definitely, but if they are not here, we cannot think, ‘If, if, if, if,’” Jokic said.
After leading the league in offensive rating during the regular season and being held under 100 points only twice, the Nuggets failed to hit triple digits against the feisty Timberwolves three times in the series.
“It’s a miss-or-make league. We couldn’t make any shots," Jokic said. “I’m confident in my and Jamal's two-man game.”
Jokic, who will enter his 12th season in the league in 2026-27, can sign another maximum contract extension this summer. He didn't hesitate when asked about his interest in reupping his commitment.
“I still want to be Nuggets forever,” he said.
Coach David Adelman doesn't have the same security, after finishing his first full year on the job. Might changes be in the works in Denver?
“That’s not my decision,” Jokic said. "Definitely, if we were in Serbia, we would all be fired.”
But in all seriousness, the Joker doubled down on his support of Adelman.
“It’s not his fault we couldn’t rebound. It’s not his fault we couldn’t catch the ball very well. There is nothing to blame David Adelman. It was all us,” Jokic said.
The Nuggets closed the regular season on a 12-game winning streak.
“Very disappointing end to the season. I'm the head coach. I take responsibility for things that didn't go well here,” Adelman said.
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Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jaylen Clark get into an altercation during the second half of Game 6 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, left, and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jaylen Clark (22) get into an altercation during the second half of Game 6 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, right, and Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert hug after Game 6 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, left, and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jaylen Clark (22) get into an altercation during the second half of Game 6 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) looks on during the second half of Game 6 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)
