Finsbury Park attack: Theresa May condemns ‘sickening’ terror attack
Prime Minister Theresa May says the terror attack near a north London mosque is “every bit as sickening” as recent attacks to hit the UK.
She was speaking after a man died and 10 people were injured when a man drove a van into worshippers near a north London mosque.
Eight people were taken to hospital after the attack near Finsbury Park Mosque.
A 48-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
A group of people were helping a man who had collapsed when they were hit by the van just after midnight. The man has died, but it is unclear whether this was as a result of the attack.
Police said all the victims of the attack, which took place outside Muslim Welfare House, were Muslim.
Eyewitness Abdul Rahman said the driver had said he wanted to “kill all Muslims” and told the BBC he struck the man and helped subdue him.
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In pictures: Finsbury Park attack
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Welsh hire van in mosque terror attack
Metropolitan Police’s deputy assistant commissioner Neil Basu said the “terrorist attack” began when the van was driven into a man who was already being given first aid by the public on the pavement.
“Sadly that man has died. It is too early to state if his death was a result of this attack.”
Several of those in hospital are “seriously injured” and there are currently no other suspects, he added.
Earlier, police also said the arrested man would be “subject of a mental health assessment in due course”.
Extra police are being deployed to reassure communities, especially those observing Ramadan, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said.
He also said his “thoughts and prayers” were with those affected by the “horrific terrorist attack on innocent people”.
“While this appears to be an attack on a particular community, like the terrible attacks in Manchester, Westminster and London Bridge it is also an assault on all our shared values of tolerance, freedom and respect.”
Forensics officers are examining a white van which has Pontyclun Van Hire on it – a firm from Rhondda Cynon Taff in south Wales.
At the scene
By Cherry Wilson, BBC News
Locals say this is a proudly multicultural area, where the biggest rivalry is whether you support Arsenal or their north London rivals, Tottenham.
Now the mood here is one of shock, as residents stand by the police cordon seeing the aftermath of yet another attack in London.
Mother-of-four Nicola Senior, 43, is walking back from taking her children to school when she stops to take in the scene.
She said: “I’m frightened. Is there going to be retaliation?
“I am fearful for my kids. Can we go to the park? Can we go to the church? It feels like this is happening all the time.”
‘Everyone is on edge’ after attack
Mr Rahman, an eyewitness, said: “When the guy came out from his van he wanted to escape, run away and he was saying ‘I want to kill Muslims. ‘I want to kill Muslims.’
“I hit him on his stomach… and then me and the other guys… we held him to the ground until he couldn’t move. We stopped him until the police came.”
Another witness, who gave his name as Abdul, told the BBC the arrested man was shouting “kill me, I’ve done my job”.
Mr Javid also said he wanted to reassure Muslims around the UK that the government would “always take a zero tolerance approach to hate crime”.
Eyewitness Adil Rana, 24, said the suspected attacker was pinned to the floor by members of the public “and people were punching him and beating him, which was reasonable because of what he’s done”.
“And then the imam of the mosque actually came out and said: ‘Don’t hit him, hand him over to the police, pin him down’.”
Image caption
The Muslim Council of Britain said this was the “most violent manifestation to date” of recent Islamophobic incidents.
“We expect the authorities to increase security outside mosques as a matter of urgency.”
Many of the victims are believed to have just left evening prayers at the Muslim Welfare House after breaking the Ramadan fast.
It has appealed for calm, adding that “all of our efforts should be towards getting justice for the victims and ensuring our community stays the diverse, tolerant and welcome place we know it to be”.
Media captionAbdulrahman Aidroos describes how he and others detained the suspected attacker