- One dead, 10 others injured, after van mows down pedestrians outside a mosque in north London’s Finsbury Park area
- Attacker named as Darren Osborne
- PM May terms attack a “sickening” attempt to destroy liberties that unite Britain
- A number of the victims were worshippers who were leaving Finsbury Park Mosque after prayers at the time of the attack
- The 48-year-old driver of the van was detained by passersby
Attacker Named as Darren Osborne
According to a report on The Guardian, the attacker has been identified as 47-year-old Darren Osborne. Osborne is reportedly a married man, and is father to four children.
The family is supposedly based in Weston-super-Mare, close to Cardiff golf club in the north east of the city suburbs. Osborne was arrested by the police on suspiscion of attempted murder, following the attack.
He had reportedly shouted “I want to kill all Muslims” as he rammed his van into people early Monday morning.
Attacker Not Known to Security Forces
UK Security Minister Ben Wallace said that the man arrested over the mosque attack was not previously known to authorities in terms of extremism.
This man was not known to the authorities in the space of extremism or far right extremism and he clearly took advantage of a simple weapon, a vehicle, to make an attack on people going about their businessBen Wallace to Sky News
PM May Gives Statement on Attack
UK Prime Minister Theresa May has described the attack on a north London mosque attack as a "sickening" attempt to destroy liberties that unite Britain, such as freedom of worship.
May says the man who plowed a van into a crowd of people leaving evening prayers acted alone and that people outside the mosque apprehended him.
Ten people were injured and police are investigating whether a man who died while being given first aid at the scene died from the attack or something else.
May praised the resolve of the people of London in responding to the incident and said extra police resources have already been deployed to assure the public in a time of tension.
Witnesses Recall Attack
Witnesses recall a hired vehicle swerving into a group of people leaving prayers shortly after midnight at the Finsbury Park Mosque, one of the biggest in the country, witnesses said. The attack comes during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
"This big van just came and went all over us," witness Abdulrahman Saleh Alamoudi told BuzzFeed News. "He was screaming... 'I'm going to kill all Muslims'."
One witness told CNN it was clear that the attacker at Finsbury Park had deliberately targeted Muslims. "He tried to kill a lot of people so obviously it's a terrorist attack. He targeted Muslims this time," the witness, identified only as Rayan, said.
"From the window, I started hearing a lot of yelling and screeching, a lot of chaos outside. … Everybody was shouting: 'A van’s hit people, a van’s hit people'," one woman who lives opposite the scene told the BBC.
"There was this white van stopped outside Finsbury Park mosque that seemed to have hit people who were coming out after prayers had finished."