Shilome Rand, 34, was stabbed in the chest leaving a synagogue in the antisemitic Golders Green attack. Speaking from his hospital bed, he said ‘it’s really a miracle that has happened to me today’
One of the two casualties from a suspected terror incident has described his survival as a “miracle”, speaking from his hospital bed. Two people, aged 76 and 34, were knifed shortly after 11am on Wednesday, April 29 in Golders Green. One of the casualties, Shilome Rand, was stabbed in the chest as he departed a synagogue.
The incidents follow a string of arson attacks targeting the Jewish community in London. Rand, 34, who remains in hospital receiving treatment for his wounds, told ITV News: “People are really concerned, people are afraid, people are uncomfortable walking in the street, people are blaming obviously the government for not doing anything about what’s going on.
“It’s for the past few months really that our community is suffering from these type of attacks. And now it’s going on and trying to take people’s lives and it’s really terrible. The government, they are the ones that are able to take care of the problems. And they are not doing their job.”
While doctors initially feared that Shilome would need emergency surgery, medics later determined that his injury was less serious than first believed.
“Thanks to God that I am recovering, and the wound isn’t so bad as they initially thought,” he said.
“I am here and I can talk, and it’s really a miracle that has happened to me today.” The second victim, a 76 year old named Moshe Shine, was assaulted at a bus stop and subsequently hospitalised. Disturbing video footage of the horrifying incident depicts the suspect strolling before suddenly lunging at the elderly victim and launching the attack.
Another video shows the suspect approaching two Met officers and a volunteer from Jewish security organisation Shomrim, brandishing a knife.
An officer utilised Pava spray in an effort to subdue him before the suspect was taken down with a Taser, as reported by The Guardian.
The suspect collapses to the ground as officers kick him in the head, yelling at him to “drop the knife”, while trying to secure his hands behind his back with handcuffs.
A bystander appears to aid the two officers, at one point even sitting atop the suspect.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated: “The antisemitic attack in Golders Green is utterly appalling. Attacks on our Jewish community are attacks on Britain.”
In the wake of the attack, the PM chaired a meeting of the Government’s Cobra crisis committee, promising prompt action: “I’m holding a meeting tomorrow with the criminal justice agencies to make sure that we have effective and swift justice in these cases.
“But we do have to recognise the levels of anxiety and concern there are, that I know about in terms of the Jewish community feeling very much exposed and vulnerable, feeling they’ve got to hide their identity, sometimes in the health service, sometimes at school, on the streets where they live.”