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Van Slams Into Pedestrians Near London Mosque Leaving "Number Of Casualties", Driver Arrested

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A van plowed into pedestrians on Seven Sisters road in the Finsbury Park area in north London just after 12:20am London Time, in what the police has described a "major incident." There are "a number of casualties being worked on at the scene," London police said in a statement, with at least 10 people injured according to press reports.

The incident happened near the prominent Finsbury Park Mosque as witnesses claim the driver intentionally struck the victims; a male driver, who has not been identified, has been taken into police custody while the van appears to be rented. LBC radio adds that there has been a "huge emergency response" and ambulances have been dispatched to help the injured.

One witness told Sky News that the incident happened after worshippers were leaving the Finsbury Park mosque after midnight prayers.

Eyewitnesses reported seeing bystanders wrestle the suspect to the ground and pin him down until officers arrived.

According to the Telegraph, pictures posted on social media show more than a dozen emergency vehicles near the UKCG Help Centre at the junction of Seven Sisters Road and the A503 Tollington Road.

So far, the incident is not being called a terrorist attacks, as a person has been arrested unlike previous incidents.

One eyewitness speaking to LBC said the van had hit people on the pavement, but had not collided with a building. "It looked like he had lost control of the van or something," he said.  Locals said they had heard shouting and a helicopter was circling overhead.

Another caller told LBC her sister was at the scene when it happened. She said she described it as "something from a horror movie, everyone running everywhere".

Some social media reports describe the attack as "Islamophobic", and described the attack as a van "randomly swerving off the main road and running over several Muslim men."

The U.K. Muslim Council of Britain said they had been told worshippers were ran over as they left a local mosque. "Our prayers are with the victims," they said on Twitter.

The van used tonight at Finsbury Park mosque is shown below

One caller told LBC said people from a local mosque had been drinking coffee at a cafe by the mosque. He said he had seen six people on the floor. Another caller said:  "I saw police giving CPR, getting the heart going again and another guy on the floor."

There was no immediate word on an exact number of victims according to LBC, whose live broadcast can be heard here.

According to the Guardian, Al Qaeda operatives including the “shoebomber” Richard Reid and Zacarias Moussaoui attended the Finsbury Park mosque. In 2002, weapons training had taken place inside the building. The mosque rose to notoriety when Abu Hamza al-Masri became Imam of the Mosque due to his extremist ideologies and views on terrorism.

Source
London