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A TERROR suspect screaming "I'm going to kill all Muslims" has driven a rented van into worshippers leaving a mosque after late-night Ramadan prayers, leaving one person dead and injuring ten others.

The suspected attacker - a 48-year-old white man - ran down pedestrians before being pinned down by hero bystanders and arrested by police.

 How the Finsbury Park mosque attack unfolded leaving one worshipper dead and ten more injured
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How the Finsbury Park mosque attack unfolded leaving one worshipper dead and ten more injured
 The suspect, who allegedly screamed: “I’m going to kill all Muslims”, was pinned down by hero bystanders
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The suspect, who allegedly screamed: “I’m going to kill all Muslims”, was pinned down by hero bystanders
 The dramatic moment a man suspected of mowing down pedestrians is arrested by police
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The dramatic moment a man suspected of mowing down pedestrians is arrested by policeCredit: Daily Mirror
 Police assist a woman caught up in the panic at Finsbury Park after a van was driven at worshippers
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Police assist a woman caught up in the panic at Finsbury Park after a van was driven at worshippersCredit: Rex Features
 An injured pedestrian is taken away by paramedics on a stretcher after a van hit people close to a mosque in North London
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An injured pedestrian is taken away by paramedics on a stretcher after a van hit people close to a mosque in North LondonCredit: Rex Features
 Bodies were strewn across the pavement in attack that left one dead and ten injured
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Bodies were strewn across the pavement in attack that left one dead and ten injuredCredit: Rex Features
 Police and ambulance crews raced to the scene at Finsbury Park after pedestrians were reportedly mowed down close to a mosque
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Police and ambulance crews raced to the scene at Finsbury Park after pedestrians were reportedly mowed down close to a mosqueCredit: Rex Features
 An image of a hired white van has been circulated on social media amid claims it was the one used to hit pedestrians
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An image of a hired white van has been circulated on social media amid claims it was the one used to hit pedestriansCredit: Caters News Agency
 Armed cops are at the scene after the Met Police declared a "major incident" at Finsbury Park
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Armed cops are at the scene after the Met Police declared a "major incident" at Finsbury ParkCredit: Reuters

 


What we know so far:

  • A van ran down pedestrians on Seven Sisters Road in Finsbury Park, North London just after 12:20am on Monday morning
  • One man was killed and ten people were injured outside Finsbury Park Mosque as worshippers left a late evening prayer meeting
  • Police have confirmed they are treating the incident as a terror attack
  • Scotland Yard arrested a man, 48, at the scene on suspicion of attempted murder following a massive armed response
  • He reportedly screamed "kill me, kill all Muslims" as hero bystanders tackled him to the ground and was filmed blowing kisses from the back of the police van
  • The man who died was already receiving first aid and it is not yet known if his death was caused by attack, Met Police have said
  • Photos of the van used in the smash show it bearing the logo of a Wales-based rental company
  • A heroic imam has been praised for his efforts to calm the chaotic situation in the aftermath of the attack.
  • The Muslim Council of Britain has condemned the attack and has appealed for calm in its wake
  • Prime Minister Theresa May described the attack as "sickening" and visited the scene after chairing a Cobra meeting
  • Jeremy Corbyn said he was "totally shocked" and has today visited the scene

Scotland Yard has confirmed one man was pronounced dead at the scene and officers are in the process of informing his next of kin.

It is understood he was receiving first aid from Good Samaritans prior to the attack and it is not yet known if his death was caused by the horror.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the Senior National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism, this morning said: "This is being treated as a terrorist attack.

"The attack unfolded whilst a man was receiving first aid from the public at the scene, sadly, he has died.

“Any causative link between his death and the attack will form part of our investigation.It is too early to state if his death was as a result of the attack.”

As those injured lay sprawled in the street in the aftermath of the horror attack footage shows the suspect, whose face is covered by his T-shirt, being kicked in the head by another man.

As police placed the man under arrest and escorted him to the riot van, bystanders shouted: "Why did you do that? Why?"

Their cries followed reports the man had screamed he wanted to "kill all Muslims", according to BuzzFeed News.

The suspect was then filmed blowing a kiss from the back of a police van after the shocking terrorist incident.

A witness, who wanted to be identified as Abdulrahman, claimed the suspect said "kill me" as he was being held.


Do you know the Finsbury Park mosque attack suspect? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368


 Officers put a man in the back of a police van after a vehicle collided with pedestrians in Finsbury Park
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Officers put a man in the back of a police van after a vehicle collided with pedestrians in Finsbury ParkCredit: Reuters
 The suspect blew a kiss from the back of the police van after the shocking terrorist incident
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The suspect blew a kiss from the back of the police van after the shocking terrorist incidentCredit: Reuters
 Footage has emerged of the of the 48-year-old white man inside the police van
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Footage has emerged of the of the 48-year-old white man inside the police vanCredit: Reuters

The attacker struck outside the Muslim Welfare House, close to Finsbury Park mosque, in north London as the area was busy with worshippers who had been attending Ramadan night prayers.

Eight wounded pedestrians are being treated in the three separate hospitals while two people were treated at the scene for minor injuries.

Counter terrorism cops are investigating and say they are currently not looking for any other suspects.

One eyewitness has described the "sheer pandemonium" at the scene following the attack.

Ibn Omar told Sky News: "People were bleeding on the floor. People were crying, screaming. A woman in the floor was doing resuscitation.

"From what one of my companions has told me it was reported as a collision so police did not rush as much as they maybe would have done in a terror attack.

"But information has unfolded that this is a terror incident and that's how it should be treated."

Imam Mohammed Mahmoud was hailed for his efforts to calm the chaotic situation in the aftermath of the attack.

He guarded the man until the police arrived, telling the crowd: "Do not touch him."

Other witnesses to the attack early on Monday morning have also described how they wrestled the suspected terrorist to the ground - but stopped others from hitting him until officers took over.

 Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Finsbury Park mosque this afternoon
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Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Finsbury Park mosque this afternoonCredit: Reuters
 The area outside Finsbury Park Station remains cordoned off this morning
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The area outside Finsbury Park Station remains cordoned off this morningCredit: AP:Associated Press
 Forensic officers were on the scene following the attack just after midnight
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Forensic officers were on the scene following the attack just after midnightCredit: PA:Press Association
 A forensic tent could be seen on Seven Sisters Road this morning as investigations continue
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A forensic tent could be seen on Seven Sisters Road this morning as investigations continueCredit: Getty Images
 Police guard the scene outside the station in North London this morning
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Police guard the scene outside the station in North London this morningCredit: Getty Images
 The area was cordoned off after a van ploughed into people leaving a Mosque in Finsbury Park
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The area was cordoned off after a van ploughed into people leaving a Mosque in Finsbury ParkCredit: Getty Images
 Shocked onlookers near the police cordon this morning as Londoners woke up to learn of another atrocity
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Shocked onlookers near the police cordon this morning as Londoners woke up to learn of another atrocityCredit: Getty Images

Police said the driver of the van, a 48-year-old man, was found detained by members of the public at the scene before being arrested in connection with the incident.

They say he has been taken to hospital as a precaution and will be taken into custody once discharged, where a mental health assessment will be carried out.

Eyewitness Adil Rana has described seeing the moment the van ploughed into worshippers.

The 24-year-old, from Walthamstow, who was at the mosque said: "I was coming out the mosque and the van was driving towards us to try and hit us at speed and everyone was screaming.

"There were people on the floor.

"The driver jumped out and he was pinned down to the floor and people were punching him and beating him.

"Then the Imam of the mosque actually came out and said don't hit him, hand him over to the police.

"I saw the van coming from a distance and I managed to move out the way."

The van was driving towards us to try and hit us at speed and everyone was screaming.

Adil Ranaeyewitnes

Describing the driver he said: "He was white and he had an accent and loads of tattoos.

"As he was being taken into the van he was saying 'I'd do it again' and mocking people.

"The guy knew what he was doing. It feels like it will escalate and violence will only continue from both parties.

"God knows what's going to happen next. It's just not fair on everyone else."

Hassan Yassin, a minicab driver from Enfield, often prays in the mosque.

The 28-year-old said: "The people I have seen attacked are old people. I saw a video of a man who was knocked off his wheelchair. I believe it was a Somalian man.

"Pavements don't have any religion. It could have been anyone walking on that pavement - Sikh, Muslim, Buddhist, Christian.

"But he specifically targeted Muslims when they were coming out the night prayer."

 Forensic investigators stand behind cordon tape at the scene of an attack where a man drove a van at Muslim worshippers outside a mosque
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Forensic investigators stand behind cordon tape at the scene of an attack where a man drove a van at Muslim worshippers outside a mosqueCredit: Reuters
 Debris and a forensic officers tent is seen at the scene after a vehicle collided with pedestrians in North London
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Debris and a forensic officers tent is seen at the scene after a vehicle collided with pedestrians in North LondonCredit: Reuters
 A police van leaves the site of Pontyclun Van Hire at the East Side Cambrian Industrial Estate
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A police van leaves the site of Pontyclun Van Hire at the East Side Cambrian Industrial EstateCredit: Getty Images
 Theresa May and Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick talk to faith leaders at Finsbury Park Mosque in north London
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Theresa May and Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick talk to faith leaders at Finsbury Park Mosque in north LondonCredit: PA:Press Association
 Mohammed Mahmud, the Iman of the Muslim Welfare House, protected the attacker telling crowds to wait for the police
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Mohammed Mahmud, the Iman of the Muslim Welfare House, protected the attacker telling crowds to wait for the policeCredit: Reuters

Police commissioner Cressida Dick has this morning said: “London has woken up to the news of another appalling attack on our city.

“There is now an ongoing investigation by our Counter Terrorism Command to establish why this attack was carried out.

“London is a city of many faiths and many nationalities. An attack on one community is an attack on all of us.

“Terrorists will not succeed in their attempts to divide us and make us live in fear.”

Prime Minister Theresa May has condemned the terror attack as "every bit as sickening" as other recent terrorist outrages.

She said an early assessment by police suggests the Finsbury Park attacker "acted alone".

May added: "All my thoughts are with the victims, their families and the emergency services on the scene."

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “The attack on Westminster bridge, the attack on London bridge, the attack in Manchester, the attack last night - all of these are attacks on our shared values of freedom, tolerance and respect. Terrorism is terrorism.

“Of course we are grieving for those victims of terror but also for the Grenfell Tower victims and our thoughts are always with them.

"We are a great city we can't allow these terrorists who fuel division to change the way we lead our lives.”

Mohammed Kosbar from Finsbury Park mosque said an "attack on one faith is attack on all faiths and communities".

He added: "On Saturday June 17, as part of the Jo Cox foundation Great Get Together, members of Islington's differing faith communities gathered at Muslim Welfare House.

"We met to celebrate our friendship and our cooperation for the good of our neighbourhood. Less than 48 hours later the same area experienced a terrorist attack aimed at killing Muslims returning home after their Ramadan prayers."

 

 Muslims pray on a pavement clost to the mosque after a van hit pedestrians
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Muslims pray on a pavement clost to the mosque after a van hit pedestriansCredit: Getty Images
 Home Secretary Amber Rudd has this morning confirmed 'the police are treating it as a terrorist incident'
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Home Secretary Amber Rudd has this morning confirmed 'the police are treating it as a terrorist incident'Credit: Getty Images
 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn visits the scene of a terror attack in Finsbury Park
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Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn visits the scene of a terror attack in Finsbury ParkCredit: Eyevine

“The van drove over people who were leaving late prayers. They were gathering in Seven Sisters Road.

“I heard there are fatalities but I don’t want to jump to conclusions.

“My concern now is the casualties who have been affected."

Transport for London confirmed Finsbury Park station was open, but passengers should use the entrance at Station Place via Stroud Green Road as the Seven Sisters Road entrance is closed.

Armed police were scrambled to the scene as casualties were pictured strewn across the road and pavement.

The driver was tackled to the ground by bystanders and pinned down before being arrested by police.

Two witnesses told BuzzFeed News that the driver got out of the van screaming that he wanted to “kill all Muslims”.

 A wounded person can be seen being taken away on a stretcher
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A wounded person can be seen being taken away on a stretcherCredit: Rex Features
 Dozens of people can be seen gathered on the junction close to Seven Sisters Road where the incident happened
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Dozens of people can be seen gathered on the junction close to Seven Sisters Road where the incident happenedCredit: Sky News
 Police stand at the cordon after the road was closed to traffic amid the chaos
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Police stand at the cordon after the road was closed to traffic amid the chaosCredit: Rex Features

An eyewitness told Press Association: "The gentleman went straight down this road, people were just conversing, talking, just doing what we're doing.

"And he just came into all of us. There was a lot of people.

"I was shocked, shocked, shocked. There were bodies around me.

"Thank God I just moved to the side, I just jumped. Everyone is hurt. Everyone is actually hurt."

Another witness called Khalid told BBC Breakfast onlookers lifted up the van to help a man who was trapped underneath.

He said: "One of them was under the van, people were gathered around the van to actually lift the van up to get this guy out from under the van."

Eyewitness Ivn Omar told BBC it was "pandemonium".

"People screaming, people crying.

"After his attack the police arrested him and he was gloating and laughing."

Local resident Atikur Arhman, 41, told MailOnline: "An elderly man who just came from the mosque, he just fainted and people were picking him up when the van he just sped up and ran them over when the guy was one the floor."

Eyewitnesses told LBC radio that the van approached "slowly and intentionally accelerated into crowded cafe outside a mosque".

Video footage shared online showed a white male, believed to be the driver, being held by police shortly after 1am.

Other footage shows a man giving CPR to a victim in the street while another man's head injury was treated with a makeshift dressing.

Witnesses have revealed how people could be heard shouting and screaming amid the chaos and bloodstains were visible on the pavement.

 Armed cops raced to the scene within minutes of the chaos unfolding shortly after midnight on Sunday
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Armed cops raced to the scene within minutes of the chaos unfolding shortly after midnight on SundayCredit: Rex Features
 A Twitter user shared this image showing a police cordon set up at the corner of Seven Sisters Road in North London
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A Twitter user shared this image showing a police cordon set up at the corner of Seven Sisters Road in North London
 Specialist rescue operations staff were at the scene shortly after midnight as enquiries got underway
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Specialist rescue operations staff were at the scene shortly after midnight as enquiries got underwayCredit: Rex Features

Local resident  Cynthia Vanzella said: “It was really ugly. I saw at least two people on the floor not moving and police officers trying to do chest massage on them.”

She had earlier tweeted: "Horrible to watch police officers doing cardiac massage at people on the floor, desperately trying to save them. I just hope they did."

In an interview with Sky News, she said: "I was trying to sleep when I heard a lot of noise outside.

"I saw many people shouting, taking over half of Seven Sisters Road, I thought that something bad has happened."

The Muslim Council of Britain has appealed for calm while police probe the suspected terror attack outside Finsbury Mosque early this morning.

Secretary General Harun Khan said it appeared from eye witness accounts that the perpetrator was motivated by Islamophobia.

He said: “Many will feel terrorised, no doubt be angry and saddened by what has taken place.”

 Paramedics from London Ambulance can be seen tending to people injured in the incident
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Paramedics from London Ambulance can be seen tending to people injured in the incidentCredit: Rex Features
 There was a major police presence at Seven Sisters Road in North London after cops were called shortly after midnight
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There was a major police presence at Seven Sisters Road in North London after cops were called shortly after midnightCredit: Rex Features

London mayor Sadiq Khan said extra police had been deployed to reassure communities, especially those observing Ramadan, and blasted the attack as "an assault on all our shared values of tolerance, freedom and respect".

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who lives yards from the horrifying scene, said he was "totally shocked" by the incident.

He tweeted: "I've been in touch with the mosques, police and Islington council regarding the incident.

"My thoughts are with those and the community affected by this awful event."

 Flowers and tributes have been left at the scene of the terror attack this morning
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Flowers and tributes have been left at the scene of the terror attack this morningCredit: Getty Images
 A woman lays flowers at a police cordon near the scene in Finsbury Park this morning
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A woman lays flowers at a police cordon near the scene in Finsbury Park this morningCredit: Getty Images

The Met Police have urged anyone with information to come forward.

They added: "Due to the nature of this incident extra policing resources have been deployed in order to reassure communities, especially those observing Ramadan.

"A number police units are at, and managing the cordons around, the crime scene, including local officers and those from neighbouring boroughs - supported by armed officers and the Territorial Support Group."

Officers also ruled out reports anyone had suffered knife injuries.

The mosque became notorious after the one-eyed and hook-handed hate preacher Abu Hamza became the imam.

The incident comes just two weeks after the London Bridge terror attack, where radical Islamists used a hire van to mow people down in the capital.


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