Bloomberg
UK police are treating an incident in which a van plowed into a crowd outside a north London mosque as the third terrorist attack on the capital in as many months.
One man died and 10 people were injured, all of them “from the Muslim community,†Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu told reporters in London on Monday. The attack occurred shortly after midnight as people left Finsbury Park mosque following late-night prayers. The 48-year-old driver was arrested and hospitalized.
“This was clearly a deliberate attack on innocent Londoners, many of whom were finishing prayers during the holy month of Ramadan,†London Mayor Sadiq Khan said in a statement.
The latest atrocity adds to the challenges facing Prime Minister Theresa May after two knife-and-vehicle attacks on the capital and a suicide bombing in Manchester exposed vulnerabilities in public security. Juggling a set of unprecedented challenges that ranges from Brexit and an unstable government to the fallout from a devastating tower-block fire, the premier called a meeting of her emergency Cobra committee on Monday morning to discuss the terror threat.
It’s “an incredibly challenging time,†putting stress on the emergency services, Basu said. Extra police officers will be deployed across London to ensure safety.
The man who died had already been receiving first-aid treatment, Basu said. He added that eight of the wounded required hospital treatment, with two of them injured “very seriously.†The Counter-Terrorism Command is leading the investigation, according to the police statement, which said no other suspects at the scene were identified.
“It’s an absolutely disgusting act of violence,†Environment Secretary Michael Gove said in a BBC Television interview. “These were people who were at a place of worship. It should be absolutely sacrosanct.â€