VAN STRIKES WORSHIPPERS LEAVING MOSQUE
Man arrested in what police call ‘major incident’
Metropolitan Police reported “a number of casualties” while witnesses reported three dead after a van struck worshippers leaving a mosque in north London early Monday.
The incident occurred on Seven Sisters Road in Finsbury Park, home to a large immigrant population. A tweet by the Muslim Council of Britain said the victims had been leaving the Finsbury Park Mosque around 12:20 a.m.
As of press time, police said they were responding to a “major incident” with “a number of casualties being worked on at the scene.” Witnesses reported seeing six people on the ground.
Officers arrested one person who witnesses said was held by members of the public until the police arrived.
One witness said the van had hit people on the pavement, but had not collided with a building. “It looked like he had lost control of the van or something,” he said.
Pictures posted on social media showed more than a dozen emergency vehicles on the scene.
Cynthia Vanzella said on Twitter: “Horrible to watch police officers doing cardiac massage at people on the floor, desperately trying to save them. I just hope they did.”
No other details were immediately available. Earlier this month, a van veered into pedestrians on London Bridge, setting off vehicle and knife attacks that killed eight people and wounded many others. Three Muslim extremists who carried out the attack were killed by police.