A man driving a van has ploughed into worshipers leaving a London mosque on Monday, in what witnesses say was a deliberate attack on Muslims. So far,
A man driving a van has ploughed into worshipers leaving a London mosque on Monday, in what witnesses say was a deliberate attack on Muslims. So far, one person has died from the attack, eight others are in hospital, with two in a very serious condition.
The incident was being treated as a potential terrorist attack said Prime Minister Theresa May, which if confirmed would make it the fourth since March in Britain and the third to involve a vehicle deliberately driven at pedestrians.
Shortly after midnight, a hired vehicle swerved into a group of people leaving prayers at the Finsbury Park Mosque, one of the biggest in the country. The attack comes during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Police said the suspected van driver, aged 48, had been detained by members of the public before being arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
Eight people were taken to hospital and two were treated at the scene. Usain Ali, 28, who was near the mosque at the time, said he heard a bang and ran for his life.
“When I looked back, I thought it was a car accident, but people were shouting, screaming and I realised this was a man choosing to terrorize people who are praying,” he told Reuters. “He chose exactly the time that people pray, and the mosque is too small and full, so some pray outside.”
The incident comes just over two weeks after three Islamist militants drove into pedestrians on London Bridge and stabbed people at nearby restaurants and bars, killing eight. It also follows a suicide bombing at a pop concert in Manchester, northern England, in May which killed 22, while in March, a man drove a rented car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge in London and stabbed a policeman to death before being shot dead. His attack killed five people.
The Muslim Council of Britain said Monday’s attack was the most violent manifestation of Islamophobia in Britain in recent months and called for extra security at places of worship.
