United Against All Terror: Londoners hold vigil for Muslim terror attack victims
United Against All Terror: Londoners hold vigil for Muslim terror attack victims
Londoners have come together yet again in solidarity after ten Muslims were injured in a terrorist attack which took place early Monday near Finsbury Park mosque.
3 min read
Londoners bearing flowers and messages of solidarity gathered on Monday [Getty]
Londoners bearing flowers and messages of solidarity gathered on Monday at the spot where a terrorist ploughed a van into Muslims who were leaving night prayers at a mosque, the fourth terror strike in Britain in four months.
Ten people were injured in the attack, which took place early Monday near Finsbury Park mosque, north London.
One elderly man, who had collapsed just before the incident, was pronounced dead at the scene, but it is not yet known whether his death was directly linked to the van assault.
Among the roughly 100 people at the vigil, some carried signs reading "United Against All Terror".
"One of the things that all these terrorists share is a perverse ideology that wants to fuel division and divide our communities. We're not going to let them," said Mayor Sadiq Khan, speaking after prayers at the Muslim Welfare House on Monday evening.
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One of the things that all these terrorists share is a perverse ideology that wants to fuel division and divide our communities. We're not going to let them |  |
Flowers were left at the scene where hours earlier the 47-year-old white supremacist was pinned down by locals and shielded from violence by an imam, before being detained by police.
He was later arrested on suspicion of "the commission, preparation or instigation of terrorism including murder and attempted murder", the police said.
The suspect was identified by British media as Darren Osborne, a father of four who lived in the Welsh capital Cardiff.
London police chief Cressida Dick said the incident was "quite clearly an attack on Muslims" and promised a stepped-up police the presence near mosques as the holy month of Ramadan draws to a close.
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| Londoners bearing messages of solidarity gathered in the city [Getty] |
The Finsbury Park Mosque said the van "deliberately mowed down Muslim men and women leaving late evening prayers" at the mosque and the nearby Muslim Welfare House shortly after midnight.
Ten people were hurt, all Muslims, with eight requiring hospital treatment. Two were in a very serious condition, police said. One Algerian man was among those injured.
Locals pinned down the driver and the imam of the Muslim Welfare House stepped in to stop him receiving a mob beating.
France and Germany quickly condemned the attack and Egypt's Al-Azhar institution, the leading authority in Sunni Islam, condemned it as "sinful".
"Al-Azhar affirms its total rejection of this terrorist, racist, sinful act, calling on Western countries to take all precautionary measures to limit the phenomenon of Islamophobia," it said in a statement.
US President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka expressed solidarity with the worshippers in a tweet but her father has so far not commented.
Prime Minister Theresa May, who was heavily criticised for failing to meet survivors of a devastating fire in a London tower block last week, visited Finsbury Park Mosque where she met local faith leaders.
May condemned the assault as "sickening", saying Britain's determination to fight "terrorism, extremism and hatred... must be the same, whoever is responsible".
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