The Metropolitan Police have revealed that one person has been killed when a van hit a group of worshippers who were emerging from a Muslim welfare center in north London. The incident happened in Finsbury Park, and eight people have been hospitalized. The police have arrested a 48-year-old man who was held by members of the public.
Prime Minister Theresa May has confirmed that the incident is being treated as a potential Terror Attack and the Counter Terrorism Command Unit is assisting the Met Police in their investigation. Witnesses have described it as a deliberate attack.
Obviously, since the victims appear to belong to a particular community, the residents are in a panic and want protection and assurance from the authorities.
The sequence of events
Sky News reports that according to a witness, the van was white in color and it suddenly came into the bus lane and turned left striking the group of people. The witness also said that there were three persons and while two of them managed to escape, the third was held by the people till the police came on the scene at Finsbury Park. The man had a tattoo on his back and did not appear to be ill or drunk. The witness also added that most of those who were struck down by the van were male and it happened soon after the end of prayers.
This is a holy month for Muslims and Ramadan, and worshippers go to the place of worship to pray, and it is natural that such an accident will lead to tension in the neighborhood. The London police have taken one person into custody, and it is expected that his interrogation would reveal more about his accomplices and the motive behind the terror attack
After effects of the incident
Harun Khan, the general secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), has remarked that as per accounts of an eyewitness, the man who committed the crime in Finsbury Park was motivated by Islamophobia.
Britain has already experienced a terror attack where a vehicle was used – it was on London Bridge earlier this month when a van rammed into people, killing eight and injuring more than 40. Earlier to that, in July 2016, a truck had rammed into people in Nice and left 84 dead.
There is a rise in the number of terror attacks all over the world, and even as security agencies introduce rigorous checks and countermeasures, those who carry out the attacks resort to new methods.
A solution to tackle such a scenario is for citizens always to remain alerted to their surroundings and report any abnormalities to the authorities. The evil has taken deep roots in society, and many of those who commit such heinous crimes appear to be innocent at first sight like the boy next door.
