A man has appeared in court charged with attempted murder after attacks on two Jewish men in Golders Green in north London, as well as on another man in the south of the city.

The suspect, Essa Suleiman, 45, is accused of attacking Shloime Rand, 34, and Moshe Shine, 76, in the north London neighbourhood on Wednesday.

It is also alleged that Suleiman attempted to murder Ishmail Hussein in a knife attack at Hussein’s flat in Southwark earlier on the same day. Hussein had known Suleiman for around 20 years.

Suleiman additionally faces a charge of possessing a knife in a public place in Golders Green. He appeared in the dock on Friday wearing a police-issued grey sweatshirt and trousers, and he seemed to have bruising around his eyes. The defendant stood to confirm his name and date of birth, but did not enter any pleas.

Legal restrictions prevent reporting the exact address involved in the Southwark incident, as the property is supported accommodation for mental health patients.

Prosecutor Emma Harraway told the court that Suleiman had experienced a medical episode while being arrested and was subsequently taken to hospital. He was treated and discharged a few hours later before being transported to the Hammersmith custody suite.

The court also heard that one of the victims of Wednesday’s attack, Shloime Rand, has now been discharged from hospital. Officials confirmed that Suleiman had been a patient at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. He was born in Somalia and came to the UK lawfully as a child in the early 1990s, and he is now a British citizen.

The case has been sent to the Old Bailey where Suleiman will next appear on 15 May for a preliminary hearing. He remains in custody.

On Thursday, the UK’s terror threat level was raised to severe following the stabbing. The government stated that the threat level had been increasing “for some time”, adding that the change was “not solely” due to the incident earlier in the week.