Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Man killed as van hits mosque crowd
A PEDESTRIAN has died after a man in a white van drove into worshippers near a mosque and then shouted, ‘I’m going to kill all Muslims’.
The van driver, described by witnesses as a large white man, was detained by members of the public after the attack in Seven Sisters Road at 12.20am on Monday.
The attacker struck as the area was busy with worshippers attending Ramadan night prayers at Finsbury Park mosque.
One witness described being surrounded by bodies in the wake of the attack outside the Muslim Welfare House, yards from the mosque.
Another witness, who wanted to be identified as Abdulrahman, which is not his real name, said: “I managed to stop the driver of the van.
“He wanted to run away and was saying, ‘I want to kill Muslims’.
“So he came back to the main road and I managed to get him to the ground and me and some other guys managed to hold him for about 20 minutes I think, until the police arrived.”
Abdulrahman claimed the driver said, ‘kill me,’ as he was held on the ground.
He added: “I said, ‘tell me why did you try driving to kill innocent people?’
“When he went into the police van he made gestures, he was laughing.”
Video posted online of the aftermath of Monday’s attack showed a scene of chaos as people tried to help the injured.
One man could been seen giving CPR to a victim in the street while another man’s head injury was treated with a makeshift dressing.
People could be heard shouting and screaming amid the chaos and bloodstains were visible on the pavement.
In one video, a group of men are seen holding the suspect to the ground as they call for the police.
Eight people were taken to hospital and two more were treated for minor injuries at the scene.
Police said the investigation of the incident is being carried out by the Counter Terrorism Command.
The force said in a statement: “The driver of the van — a man aged 48 — was found detained by members of public at the scene and then arrested by police in connection with the incident.”
The force also dismissed reports that the van driver produced a knife.