A man has been arrested after a knifeman wielding a meat cleaver threatened to kill two young girls and a shopkeeper in north London.
Armed police descended on Rossington Street in Clapton in Hackney after reports of a man armed with the cleaver and another large knife.
According to witnesses, the man stormed into a kosher shop in Upper Clapton Road shouting: "Where is the boss, I will kill him!"
When he was told the owner was not there, the knifeman ran out of the shop and yelled to two young girls aged eight and 14: “You Jews run away from here before I kill you.”
Police raced to the scene and detained a 61-year-old man who has been arrested on suspicion of affray and possession of an offensive weapon.
He was taken to a north London police station where he remains in custody.
No one is thought to have been injured.
Local police in Hackney urged people in the area not to distract them as they dealt with the incident, which happened at just after 4pm on Tuesday.
Shomrim, the Jewish neighbourhood watch group in Stamford Hill, received multiple calls by alarmed witnesses as the incident unfolded.
Gideon Falter, chairman of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “This is an extremely frightening incident and it is very fortunate that there are no injuries reported. We commend Stamford Hill Shomrim and the Metropolitan Police Service for their bravery in rushing to the scene to protect the public.
“Violent anti-Semitic crime continues to rise at an alarming rate and will continue to do so until anti-Semitic incitement is taken seriously by the authorities before it translates into violence.
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A spokesman said: "On Tuesday at just after 4pm, Shomrim in Stamford Hill responded to reports of a male making threats and brandishing a meat cleaver and a large knife, on Upper Clapton Road in Hackney E5.
"Shomrim contained the area where the suspect had fled, and liaised with local and armed police who cordoned off the area, and the suspect was subsequently arrested.
"The man is said to have tried to enter a kosher food shop but staff locked the door.
"He then allegedly entered another kosher shop brandishing his knives and shouting “Where is the boss, I will kill him!” When told that the owner was not there, he allegedly ran out of the shop towards two Jewish girls aged eight and 14, shouting “you Jews run away from here before I kill you.”
