A car has plowed into a gathering of people celebrating Eid prayers to mark the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan near a Newcastle mosque, according to local media reports cited by Russia Today. Six people have been injured and a female driver has been arrested, police said. The crash occurred outside the Westgate Sports Centre, according to a Northumbria Police statement.
A 42-year-old woman has been arrested by following the Newcastle incident
Unlike a similar incident last week where a van driven by a 48-year-old man slammed into a crowd celebrating the last days of Ramadan outside a mosque in Finsbury Park, police say last night’s incident is not being treated as an act of terrorism.
“There has been an incident on Westgate Road, but we do not believe it is terror related. It is an accident as far as we can see,” a police spokesperson told the Chronicle.
According to CNN, police confirmed that a 42-year-old woman had been arrested and added that they were not pursuing anyone else. "It is not believed to be a terror incident," Northumbria police said in a statement.
"Police enquiries are ongoing to establish exactly what happened."
The local police initially reported that five people had been injured, but later revised the number to six. Three of those injured were children, according to North East Ambulance Service.
pic.twitter.com/8TC3Qza7Tj
— Northumbria Police (@northumbriapol) June 25, 2017
pic.twitter.com/1TxoYo0fCk
— Northumbria Police (@northumbriapol) June 25, 2017
Asif Anwar, 29, told the Chronicle that there are two children among the injured.
//players.brightcove.net/4221396001/r1mPWQ7cg_default/index.html
“The lady lost control of the car and hit some people. Two of them were kids,” he said. “It was chaos, everyone was panicking. People just don’t know what is going on these days. Terrorism is what everyone was thinking straight away.”
A separate witness told the Chronicle that two people were “very, very seriously injured.”
Another witness took to Twitter to explain that the collision apparently wasn’t intentional.
“What I just seen is scary, the car running over the people but not on purpose, she was trying to hold the brakes and hit the people,” he wrote.
What I just seen is scary the car running over the people but not on purpose she was trying to hold the brakes and hit the people
— Abz. (@Riskyy_Abz) June 25, 2017
A bystander posted a video that shows the crowd's reaction to the incident.
The moment a car ploughed into pedestrians after Eid prayers in Newcastle (West road) pic.twitter.com/GscDSQLuDd
— Harris (@MrHarrisAhmed) June 25, 2017
The incident follows a series of terror attacks in the UK in recent weeks, including a bombing at Manchester arena that left more than 20 dead, mostly young people who were attending a concert by American singer Ariana Grande. An attack on London Bridge left eight dead and 48 injured earlier this month.