Attacker was a criminal
birmingham — Before he killed at least four people in Britain’s deadliest attack since the 2005 London bombings, Khalid Masood was considered by intelligence officers to be a criminal who posed little serious threat.
A British-born convert to Islam, Masood had shown up on the periphery of previous terrorism investigations that brought him to the attention of Britain’s MI5 spy agency.
But the 52-year-old was not under investigation when he sped across Westminster Bridge on Wednesday, ploughing down pedestrians with a hired car before running into the parliamentary grounds and fatally stabbing an unarmed policeman. He was shot dead by police. Although some of those he was involved with included people suspected of being keen to travel to join militant groups overseas, Masood “himself never did so”, said a US government source.
Britain’s senior counter-terrorism police officer, Mark Rowley, told reporters: “Our investigation focuses on understanding his motivation, his operation and his associates.”
He added: “Whilst there is still no evidence of further threats, you’ll understand our determination is to find out if either he acted totally alone, inspired perhaps by terrorist propaganda, or if others have encouraged, supported or directed him.”
Born Adrian Russell Ajao in Kent to the southeast of London on Christmas Day in 1964, he moved though several addresses in England, although he was known to have lived recently in Birmingham in central England.
The Daily Mail newspaper said he was brought up by his single mother in the town of Rye on England’s south coast, later converting to Islam and changing his name. Other media reports said he was a married father of three and a former English teacher who was into bodybuilding.
One soccer team photograph of Masood, taken at school in southern England, showed the future attacker smiling.
Iwona Romek, a former neighbour from Birmingham, told reporters: “When I saw the pictures on TV and in the papers of the man who carried out the attack, I recognised him as the man who used to live next door. “He had a young child, who I’d think was about 5- or 6-year-old. There was a woman living there with him, an Asian woman. He seemed to be quite nice, he would be taking care of his garden and the weeds.”
In December, she said, he suddenly moved out. Birmingham has been one of the hotbeds for British militants. According to a study by the Henry Jackson think tank earlier this month, 39 of 269 people convicted in Britain of terrorism offences from 1998 to 2015 came from the city.
Among those plots was one to kidnap and behead a British soldier. In December, two men were found guilty of planning to give £3,000 ($3,750) to Brussels bombing suspect Mohammed Abrini — widely known as “the man in the hat”.
There are over 213,000 Muslims in Birmingham, making up over a fifth of the population, according to the 2011 census, and there has been growing concern about divisions in the diverse city.
“It has been disturbing today to learn of the apparent Birmingham connection to this atrocity,” said the Birmingham Faith Leaders Group, made up of representatives of major religions from the city.
“We implore people to recognise that such actions are taken by individuals, not by whole communities.” —
Iwona Romek Ex-neighbour of killer When I saw the pictures on TV and in the papers of the man who carried out the attack, I recognised him as the man who used to live next door