Finsbury Park suspect 'turned against Muslims' after London Bridge attack

Suspect Darren Osborne
Suspect Darren Osborne Credit: Facebook / SWNS.com

The suspect in the Finsbury Park terror attack had expressed increasingly antagonistic views towards Muslims in the weeks following the recent London Bridge atrocity, it has emerged.

Darren Osborne, 47, was arrested in the early hours of Monday on suspicion of driving a van into a crowd of Muslim worshippers in north London. He is alleged to have shouted "kill all Muslims" and "this is for London Bridge" in the wake of the attack.

Muslim residents on the Cardiff estate where he lived with his partner and four children, claimed he had previously been friendly but said his attitude had changed in recent weeks.

He allegedly hurled insults at his Asian neighbour's 12-year-old son, in the wake of the Islamist attack in the capital earlier this month.

The 47-year-old suspect is taken into custody
The 47-year-old suspect is taken into custody Credit: Universal News And Sport (Europe)

And just the night before the attack he was allegedly thrown out of a local pub after becoming embroiled in a bad-tempered row about immigration in which he was "cursing Muslims".

Osborne was arrested in the early hours of Monday morning after driving a hire van into a crowd of men leaving a mosque in the Finsbury Park area of north London, almost 160 miles from his home.

One of the victims, 52-year-old Markram Ali, who was already receiving first aid, having collapsed just prior to the incident, died at the scene, while eight others were seriously injured.

Witnesses who dragged him from the cab, claimed he told them: "I want to kill Muslims...you deserve it...I did my bit."

Another witness also claimed he was heard to shout: "This is for London Bridge."

His mother Christine, 72, told ITV News her son was a "complex" person, adding: "I'm not going to defend him but you know he's my son and it's a terrible terrible shock and it's not just robbing the bank, it's an atrocity.

“At this moment in time I can't cope with it, I can't. It's a terrible, terrible shock."

Immediately after the attack Theresa May said that Muslim communities and mosques would be given extra police resources. 

Theresa May talks to faith leaders at Finsbury Park Mosque
Theresa May talks to faith leaders at Finsbury Park Mosque Credit: WPA Pool

Within hours of the attack she visited the Finsbury Park mosque, which is situated yards from the attack and gained notoriety in the early 2000s for its links to hate preachers and extremists.

Scotland Yard, which declared the attack a terrorist incident within eight minutes, is investigating Osborne's movements and behaviour in recent weeks.

His neighbour Khadijah Sherazi described how Osborne had previously been on good terms, even offering to mend her broken tap, but had recently become abusive.

She said he had called her 12-year-old son an "inbred" while he was out playing on his bike outside his home.

In another incident, the manager of the nearby Hollybush pub said, he had been asked to leave on Saturday night after arguing with a regular about immigration.

One witness said: "He got chucked out as he was so drunk. He was cursing Muslims and saying he would do some damage."

Another regular at the pub said: "He's a loud and aggressive person. He's always shouting the odds if anyone disagrees with him."

Police visited the pub on Monday to take statement from the staff and regulars.

Emergency workers help victims in Finsbury Park
Emergency workers help victims in Finsbury Park Credit: Rex Features

It is thought unemployed Osborne hired a van from a local company on Sunday before driving for more than four hours to north London, where he carried out the alleged attack.

After being dragged from the van by an angry mob, he was protected by the Imam of the mosque, Mohammed Mahmoud, who ordered people not to attack him, but hand him over to the police.

Describing what happened, Mr Mahmoud said: "By God’s grace we managed to surround him and to protect him from any harm. We stopped all forms of attack and abuse towards him, that were coming from every angle.

Mr Mahmoud has been hailed a hero by members of the community for upholding the law.

The attack is the fourth terrorist incident in London in recent months.

Visiting the scene on Monday afternoon, Mrs May met with a selection of faith leaders who discussed their concerns with her.

She was hurried into the building, with aides saying she was keeping to a tight schedule, but was greeted with heckles and jeers as she got into her car to go back to Downing Street.

People at the scene shouted "have you got a faster taxi today?" and "how can you be so quick today?"

It marks the latest difficult encounter for Mrs May in the wake of major disasters, with her response to last week's Grenfell Tower fire having been heavily criticised.

She vowed on Monday that mosques would be given extra protection by police and said that more would be done to crackdown on Islamophobia, with a package of measures to tackle extremism expected in the Queen's Speech on Wednesday.

“Extra police resources have already been deployed to reassure communities, and the police will continue to assess the security needs of mosques and provide any additional resources needed,” she said.

She condemned the incident as "every bit as sickening" as the recent atrocities in London and Manchester.

Meanwhile Sajid Javid, the Local Government Secretary, also visited the scene and comforted a crying woman, urging her to "stay strong" in the wake of the attack.

"This Government will always take a zero-tolerance approach to hate crime – including anti-Muslim hate crime – wherever we find it,” he said.

Mrs May told reporters after the meeting: "The terrible terrorist attack which took place last night was an evil born out of hatred and it has devastated a community.

"I am pleased to have been here today to see the strength of that community coming together, all faiths united in one desire to see extremism and hatred of all sorts driven out of our society.

"There is no place for this hatred in our country today and we need to work together as one society, one community, to drive it out, this evil which is affecting so many families."

 

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