Suspect in mosque van terror attack a ‘troubled’ man, claim
THE family of the man being held after the Finsbury Park attack have said he had been “troubled for a long time”.
Darren Osborne was arrested after worshippers were targeted by a man driving a van near Finsbury Park Mosque in north London on Sunday night.
Neighbours of the father of four from Cardiff said they were “shocked” when they saw pictures of him being arrested.
The attack had unfolded as a man who had been taken ill was receiving first aid from the public near the mosque, where people had been saying Ramadan night prayers. The van was driven at people who were helping him.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene at 1.04am and paramedics took nine people to three London hospitals while two others
were treated for minor injuries. Seven remained in hospital last night, including three who are in critical care.
Witnesses described hearing the driver, who was detained by members of the public before police arrived, shout: “I am going to kill Muslims.”
Osborne has been arrested on suspicion of “the commission, preparation or instigation of terrorism, including murder and attempted murder”.
Images of the van showed it was rented from Pontyclun Van Hire in Rhondda Cynon Taf.
One of Osborne’s neighbours, Edward Gardiner, 28, called police at 12.27am on Sunday to report concerns for the welfare of a man sitting in a Pontyclun Van Hire vehicle.
The man, who smelt of drink, was sleeping across the van’s front three seats with the door open, close to Osborne’s home in Pentwyn, Cardiff.
“I called police because I saw a random van in my cul-de-sac with someone drunk in it and the door open,” Mr Gardiner, who lives in a nearby property, said.
“I could smell alcohol on him and he was grunting and groaning. I poked him but he didn’t respond so I called 101. I gave them the reg, it was a 64 reg.
“It was a Pontyclun Van Hire van. They said they would sort it out. They didn’t give me a crime reference number, I don’t know if they came out. I thought it was some random drunk guy who wanted to pull over to have a kip. I thought someone should go and check on him.
“I didn’t think anything about it but then I saw the news reports and it was the same guy, the same van.”
It has also been claimed that Osborne had been asked to leave the nearby Hollybush pub, Pentwyn, on Saturday night – the day before the alleged attack – after “ranting and raving” about Muslims.
Hollybush regular Jack Norman, 20, said he was one of the group to confront Osborne and force him to leave. Jack said: “Darren was just ranting and raving about terrorism.
“He was saying, ‘All your family
are going to be Muslim. Your grandchildren are going to be Muslim and live under Sharia law.’ He was sat in the corner drinking and writing stuff down.”
Jack added: “We said, ‘It’s time for you [Darren Osborne] to leave’. Then he downed his pint as he was walking out and left.”
Another pub regular, Phil Henry, said: “He was kicked out of here, the landlord said, for shouting about Islam. He was asked to leave quietly and he went. When he came in the landlord said he was on his own and started shouting. They said, ‘We don’t want to hear that’ and he just left of his own accord.”
Mr Henry said the mixed community was “absolutely shocked”.
Khadijeh Sherizi, who converted to Islam in 2003, said Osborne was polite and her children, who are Muslim, would play with his children most days.
“We are Muslim but I am white,” said Mrs Sherizi. “It is shocking what he is accused of doing. He was just so normal. We never had a problem with him, nothing.
“In Cardiff, it can be quite racist. Sometimes I feel threatened with my veil on. I know exactly what people are thinking by their looks. But there has been nothing from him [Osborne], no threats, no animosity at all.”
Osborne remained in custody at a south London police station last night.
On Monday night, Mr Osborne’s family issued a statement which that said the “troubled” 47-year-old was “not a racist” and had never expressed racist views, adding: “It’s madness. It is obviously sheer madness.”
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said the incident was “quite clearly an attack on Muslims” and that “we treat this as a terrorist attack”.
Flowers have been laid near the scene, with one card reading: “This is an attack on all Londoners and on my community.”
Scotland Yard said detectives currently believe the attacker “acted alone but we are of course investigating all the circumstances”.
Asked about Mr Gardiner’s claims, South Wales Police confirmed they were called to a report of an insecure van parked on a street in Llanedeyrn, Cardiff, 24 hours before the attack in London.
In a statement released yesterday afternoon, the force said officers responded to a call at 12.27am on Sunday.
They said: “Officers attended, a male was asleep inside the vehicle, which showed no signs of having been driven recently. The officers’ assessment was that no offences were disclosed.
“This is a significant investigation and anyone with any information is asked to call the police confidentially on 0800 789 321.”