TERRORISM

London mosque attack: Police identify suspect

BRITAIN-ATTACKS-VEHICLE A man stands with anti-racism posters ahead of a vigil, close to the scene of a van attack in Finsbury Park | AFP

The suspect in the north London mosque attack that killed one person has been identified as a resident of Cardiff, Wales, who had previously voiced his hatred for Muslims, the media reported.

According to witnesses, Darren Osborne, 47, shouted, "I want to kill all Muslims" as he drove a van in the early hours of Monday into a crowd of worshippers near the Finsbury Park Mosque on Seven Sisters Road. 

One person died and 11 were injured; Osborne survived the attack and was arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation or instigation of terrorism including murder and attempted murder.

Camera phone footage showed him being captured by worshippers, who attacked him as he screamed, "Kill me". 

When he was eventually arrested and loaded into the back of a police van in handcuffs, he waved to the gathered crowd.

Osborne's neighbours in Pentwyn said that over the weekend, he had called a 12-year-old Muslim an "inbred" and was thrown out of a local pub for getting drunk, "cursing Muslims and saying he would do some damage".

Neighbours in the Cardiff suburb where he had lived for several years described him as "aggressive" and "strange". 

They said it was unclear what he did for work. Some said he was jobless, but bought and sold cars.

Osborne's mother, sister and nephew said in a statement: "We are massively in shock, it's unbelievable. It still hasn't really sunk in." According to the Metropolitan Police, there was no immediate evidence that Osborne was an active member of a far right organisation.

However, the incident is being treated as a terror attack.

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Topics : #britain | #terrorism

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