British police have arrested two men on suspicion of anti-Semitic arson when several ambulances belonging to a Jewish volunteer rescue group were set on fire in north London.
A British couple, aged 47 and 45, were arrested at two separate addresses in the capital on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement on Wednesday.
They are being held at a London police station and officers are searching two premises, the statement added.
The incident occurred early Monday morning local time outside a synagogue in a district that is home to London’s largest Jewish community.
Residents in the northern suburb of Golders Green were woken up by the sound of loud explosions as flames lit up the night sky and dozens of firefighters rushed to the scene.
Golders Green is home to many synagogues, schools, and kosher restaurants, and is known for having a large Jewish and Orthodox Jewish community.
On Monday, police said the attack was being treated as an “anti-Semitic hate crime” and announced that anti-terrorism police were leading the investigation into the attack, although it has not yet been declared a terrorist incident.
An investigation into the attack is ongoing and surveillance footage of the incident suggests at least three people were involved, police said Wednesday.
Commander Helen Flanagan, London’s head of counter-terrorism police, said in a statement: “We are very aware of the continuing concerns of the local community, our investigation remains active and we will continue to work to identify and arrest all those who may have been involved.”
