‘TWISTED FACE OF HATE
CLERIC STOPS MOB ATTACK ON SUSPECT
THIS is the terror suspect accused of mowing down a crowd of Muslim worshippers near a mosque.
Darren Osborne, 47, from Cardiff, was held at the scene – as a hero imam urged calm.
A TERROR suspect who mowed down Muslims outside a mosque owes his life to a hero imam.
The man, named last night as 47-year-old Darren Osborne, was protected by the Muslim cleric as an angry mob tried to attack him.
Osborne is said to have mounted the pavement in a rented white van, steering it into a crowd leaving midnight prayers and shouting: “I’m going to kill all Muslims.”
As he leapt from his van, fuming members of the congregation tackled him to the ground and started to punch and kick him.
Dad-of-four Osborne is said to have smirked: “Kill me, kill me” in a bid to goad them on.
But brave imam Mohammed Mahmoud fought his way through the crowd and ordered worshippers not to seek vengeance.
As one member of the public kicked the suspect in the head, Mr Mahmoud yelled: “Don’t hit him. You do not touch him. Hand him in to the police.”
Waved
He ordered his congregation to pin the man to the ground then stood guard until officers arrived.
After the crash, which left one dead and 10 injured, Osborne is said to have waved as he was hauled away by police.
He then reportedly blew kisses from the back of a police van.
As police probed the terror attack – the fourth in the UK in the past three months in which 36 have died – they praised the “restraint” shown.
Metropolitan Police chief Neil Basu said: “I would like to thank those people who helped police in detaining the man and who worked with officers to calmly and quickly get him in to our custody.
“Their restraint in the circumstances is commendable.”
Mr Mahmoud, an imam at Finsbury Park Mosque in north London where the attack happened at 12.20am yesterday, appealed for calm and unity.
The religious leader said: “We managed to surround him and to protect him from harm.
“It wasn’t me alone – there was a group who were calm and collected and managed to extinguish any flames of anger.”
Last night police were quizzing Osborne, of Cardiff, on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of terrorism, including murder and attempted murder.
They swooped on his terraced home and a vehicle rental company near Cardiff where the van was believed to have been hired from.
Neighbours told of their shock after seeing pictures of Osborne being arrested.
Pauline Tibbs, 48, said: “It’s a terrible shock. I’ve seen him walking in the street but never spoken to him. He seemed normal.”
Another neighbour said: “He had lived on the estate for a few years. He’s always been a complete c*** but this is really surprising.”
The Met has pledged extra security around mosques.