The Metropolitan Police classified the terrifying stabbing attack in Golders Green, London, late Wednesday morning as a “terrorist incident.”

The department added, “We are also working with the security services to ensure we have a full intelligence picture. One of the lines of inquiry is whether this attack was deliberately targeting the Jewish community in London.”

Police officers responded to a call at 11:15 a.m. Wednesday morning, arriving at Highfield Street in Barnet, the borough in which Golders Green is located and where the attack occurred. Footage posted to social media shows the terrorist spotting a man wearing a kippah, then pulling out a knife and running him down. A 76-year-old and a 34-year-old were taken to a hospital with stab wounds and are in stable condition.

Police officers were also attacked, but they subdued the 45-year-old assailant with a taser and took him into custody.

Metropolitan Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said in a statement that the suspect had a history of mental health problems, but he also said that the suspect deliberately targeted people who look Jewish, adding that it’s unacceptable for Jewish people to decide what to wear and where to go in London just to stay safe.

Jewish groups reacted with anger and dismay over what they perceive as the lack of protection of the Jewish community.

“The government, the justice system and leaders at every level must recognize the seriousness of this moment,” the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council said in a joint statement. “We will continue to demand from all relevant authorities that they respond with the urgency and resolve this challenge requires.”

“This is a moment for the whole of society to speak up loudly and stand together against this hatred,” they added.

“This appalling attack is part of a stark and deeply troubling rise in violent antisemitism targeting Jewish individuals and institutions across the United Kingdom and around the world,” the World Jewish Congress said in a statement.

“Recent attacks in London, Bondi and Toronto are the direct result of the failure of law enforcement and leaders to act when extremists call to globalize the intifada, and today, once again, we are seeing the consequences of that failure on the streets of a great city,” the statement added. “While we welcome the swift response to today’s attack, swift response is not enough. Governments must take the preventative action necessary to end this deadly pattern before more lives are lost.”

The Iran-linked group Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya (HAYI) claimed responsibility for the attacks.