LONDON, June 20 (Xinhua) — Britain’s Security Minister Ben Wallace said Tuesday the suspect in the Finsbury Park attack was not known to the country’s security services and it was believed he has acted alone.
The van driver ploughed into Muslim worshippers after midnight Monday near a mosque in the Finsbury Park area in London, leaving one dead and nine injured.
The man who died at the scene was a father of six, according to local reports.
Although the Metropolitan Police of London have not released the name of the suspect, every national newspaper in Britain, as well as broadcast outlets, have identified him as Darren Osborne, a father of four who lived in the Welsh capital, Cardiff.
The 47-year-old man is being held on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of terrorism including murder and attempted murder.
The van used in the attack is undergoing forensic examination by the police. Preliminary investigation found that the vehicle was rented over the weekend from a company in Cardiff.
Osborne’s family issued a statement earlier to the media expressing their shock and disbelief at what had happened. In the statement Osborne’s mother, sister and nephew said: “We are massively in shock. It’s unbelievable. It still hasn’t really sunk in. Our hearts go out to those who’ve been injured.”
Detectives are now urgently trying to establish what prompted the man to make a journey of almost 250 km from South Wales to the Finsbury Park area of London, where he carried out the attack.
he victims had just enjoyed a meal to signal the end of their fast during the holy month of Ramadan. As they were heading to their homes on foot, the van swerved toward them while they were walking on the sidewalk near the Finsbury Park Mosque.
A group of Muslim men managed to capture him and handed him over to the police.
Some of the national newspapers hailed the actions of an imam from the mosque who kept the angry crowd calm, amid fears they may attack the van driver.
The tabloid Daily Mirror captured the mood with an editorial saying: “In every terrorist attack we find evil is countered by bravery and London Muslim imam Mohammed Mahmoud is a hero for avoiding potentially more bloodshed by protecting the suspected assailant.
“He is a man of peace and his call for calm, respected by those around him, was inspirational. Worshippers were justifiably seething after a van driver had mown down innocents before reportedly shouting he was going to kill all Muslims.”
Prime Minister Theresa May described what had happened as an evil act which had left the community devastated.
It is being viewed as a revenge attack after the recent acts of terrorism by Islamic terrorists in London and Manchester.
