A father of six who was seriously injured in the Golders Green attack has spoken exclusively to the Mirror about his ordeal, revealing that doctors told him he could have died if the wound had been just two centimetres closer to his heart.
Incredible Recovery
Shloime Rand, 34, invited the Mirror into his north London home to recount the past 48 hours. Sitting at his dining table, he described how paramedics feared for his life and a helicopter landed nearby. Despite the severity of the attack, he required only four stitches and was discharged from hospital.
His wife interrupted to call his survival a 'big miracle.' Rand said: 'It was the first time I've been in Golders Green for two months.' He works as a mortgage broker and has six children aged 13, 11, nine, seven, four, and two.
Court Appearance
Essa Suleiman, 45, appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on three counts of attempted murder. He is accused of trying to kill Shloime Rand and Norman Shine, 76, in Golders Green, as well as attempting to murder his own friend, Ishmail Hussein, at his home in Southwark hours earlier.
Prosecutor Emma Harraway said Suleiman was armed with a knife and 'tried to stab Mr Hussein' before moving on to Golders Green. Rand had been 'studying in the synagogue' before being stabbed in the chest.
Community Reaction
Rand said he does not want a visit from Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. 'We definitely do not want the Prime Minister or any of his colleagues to come here and pay lip service,' he said. 'They should concentrate all their efforts instead on changing things to help fight anti-Semitism.'
Rabbi Levi Schapiro, who runs the Jewish Community Council in Stamford Hill, visited Rand in hospital. He revealed that Rand's 13-year-old son learned about the attack from schoolmates, who assumed he knew, leaving the boy devastated.
Legal Proceedings
Suleiman, born in Somalia and brought to the UK legally as a child in the 1990s, has been remanded in custody until a hearing at the Old Bailey on May 15. He did not enter pleas to three counts of attempted murder and one charge of possessing a knife in a public place.
