Media reports say one arrest made after vehicle is reported to have run over worshippers leaving a mosque in London early on Monday.
Police are investigating a potential terror attack in Finsbury Park, north London, after a van hit worshippers near a mosque, leaving one dead and eight injured.
According to The Guardian, officers are investigating multiple reports from the scene that the van intentionally drove into a crowd, members of which had recently left prayers at the mosque.
Police say a 48-year-old man, believed to be the driver of the vehicle, has been arrested. They have confirmed reports that passersby held the man on the ground before he was detained by officers.
Police said a 48-year-old man has been arrested after what witnesses said was a deliberate attack on Muslim worshipers. The suspect has reportedly been taken to the hospital for a mental health assessment.
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) said the attack was the most violent manifestation of Islamophobia in Britain in recent months and called for extra security at places of worship. The MCB said on Twitter that the incident occurred near the Finsbury Park Mosque and that a van “intentionally” hit worshipers leaving the mosque. The council called on the authorities to increase security around mosques.
Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed the crash is being investigated as a terrorist attack and said her thoughts were with those who had been hurt in “this terrible incident.”
Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, denounced the incident as “a horrific terrorist attack on innocent people in Finsbury Park, according to The Guardian.
Britain has been hit by a series of attacks in recent months, including a van-and-knife attack on London Bridge and a nearby market on June 3 that killed eight people and injured dozens.
On March 22, a man drove a rented car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge in London and stabbed a policeman to death before being shot dead. Five people were killed in that attack.
On May 22, a suicide bomber killed 22 people at a concert by American pop singer Ariana Grande in Manchester in northern England.
