Several wounded in London as vehicle slams into pedestrians
One person arrested after incident near mosque where a van reportedly hit Muslim worshippers leaving nightly prayers
A number of people were wounded in London overnight Sunday-Monday when a vehicle reportedly hit several pedestrians.
Metropolitan Police said officers were called to the scene on Seven Sisters Road in Finsbury Park in north London at 12:20 a.m. local time.
Witnesses said a van collided with a group of Muslims leaving a nearby mosque after nightly prayers.
Finsbury Park resident Cynthia Vanzella told CNN she saw many people “crying, screaming” in the aftermath of the collision.
Police said one person was arrested and that “a number of casualties [were] being worked on at the scene.”
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), an umbrella body, said on Twitter: “We have been informed that a van has run over worshippers as they left #FinsburyPark Mosque. Our prayers are with the victims.”
https://twitter.com/TEN_GOP/status/876591020544339968
Harun Khan, the head of the MCB, tweeted that the van had “intentionally” run over people leaving night prayers held during the holy month of Ramadan when Muslims fast from dawn to dusk and end the day with an iftar meal at sunset.
Video shows the scene where officers are responding to reports of a vehicle collision with pedestrians in London https://t.co/0E4gnsfOgf pic.twitter.com/p18kNtrCkd
— CNN International (@cnni) June 19, 2017
The mosque was once a notorious hub for radical Islamists. Its former imam Abu Hamza was jailed for life in New York on terrorism charges in 2015. He preached there from 1997 to 2003 before being jailed for inciting violence. He was later extradited to the United States.
In 2015, the mosque was one of around 20 that took part in an open day organized by the MCB to promote better understanding of Islam following the deadly terror attacks in Paris that year.
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Britain has been on high alert following a pair of attacks in recent weeks that claimed the lives of some 30 people. Its terror alert has been set at “severe,” meaning an attack is highly likely.
Earlier this month, three terrorists carried out a vehicular attack followed by a stabbing spree in London that left eight people dead and dozens wounded. The attackers were killed by police.
In Manchester in late May, a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including many children, at an arena where a pop concert had just ended.
Both attacks were claimed by the Islamic State terror group.
In March, a terrorist drove into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge in London, killing four, and fatally stabbed a policeman guarding the gates of parliament before being shot dead by armed officers.
