ES News Email Enter your email address Please enter an email address Email address is invalid Fill out this field Email address is invalid Email cannot be used. Try another or register with your social account 
 
 One man was killed and 10 others injured after a van was driven into worshippers near Finsbury Park mosque in a suspected terrorist attack. 
 
 Dozens of people had just finished prayers at the mosque when the vehicle crashed into pedestrians in Seven Sisters Road at about 12.15am on Monday. 
 
 One man has been arrested and the Metropolitan Police confirmed that one man died and that Counter Terrorism officers are investigating the attack. 
 
 Witnesses said people were also attacked by a knife-wielding man but the Met said there had been no reports of anyone suffering stab wounds. 
 
 Prime Minister Theresa May said it was being treated as "a potential terrorist attack" and that she would hold a Cobra committee emergency meeting later on Monday. 
 
 The nature of the attack drew immediate parallels with the London Bridge atrocity two weeks ago, in which eight innocent people were killed. 
 
 Bystanders wrestled a suspect to the floor. Officers on patrol nearby were at the scene within seconds and made one arrest. 
 
 A white man with black hair was seen being detained by police officers. 
 
 The victims are believed to be Muslims who had been breaking fast at a cafe next to the mosque following late-night prayers observed during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. 
 
 A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "One man was pronounced dead at the scene. Officers are in the process of informing next of kin. 
 
 "A post mortem examination will be scheduled due course. 
 
 "Eight people injured were taken to three separate hospitals; two people were treated at the scene for minor injuries. 
 
 "At this stage there are no reports of any persons having suffered any knife injuries." 
 
 The spokesman continued: "The driver of the van - a man aged 48 - was found detained by members of public at the scene and then arrested by police in connection with the incident. 
 
 "He has been taken to hospital as a precaution, and will be taken into custody once discharged. 
 
 "He will also be subject of a mental health assessment in due course. 
 
 "A number police units are at, and managing the cordons around, the crime scene, including local officers and those from neighbouring boroughs - supported by armed officers and the Territorial Support Group. 
 
 Police appeal Any witnesses, or anyone with any information, can contact police via 101, or via Twitter @MetCC. To give information anonymously call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visit crimestoppers-uk.org 
 
 "The investigation of the incident is being carried out by the Counter Terrorism Command. 
 
 "At this early stage of this investigation, no other suspects at the scene have been identified or reported to police, however the investigation continues." 
 
 The vehicle appears to have been rented from Pontaclun Van Hire, based in Wales. 
 
 The Muslim Council of Britain has confirmed that worshippers leaving Finsbury Park Mosque were targeted when a van ran into them, adding: "Our prayers are with the victims." 
 
 Footage shared on social media showed scenes of carnage, with bodies of several men laying on the pavement next to a cafe. 
 
 Mehdi, a 38-year-old worshipper, said: “There were loads of people coming out and the van took a left and went straight into them. 
 
 “I saw four of five people one the floor. At least one person was stabbed. 
 
 “The crowd caught a guy. He tried to do a London Bridge thing. 
 
 “The police were there almost instantly, passing in a car by chance. People were coming out of the mosque and they just drove through them. 
 
 "They drove through the crowds for a distance of nine metres.” 
 
 Another worshipper, who arrived five minutes after the van ploughed into the crowd said: “There was a white van. It drove over innocent men and women simply trying to go home from the night prayers. 
 
 Seven Sisters Road is shut between Hornsey Road and Blackstock Road. Isledon Road is also closed. 
 
 Finsbury Park Station is open, however the Seven Sisters Road entrance/exit is closed. 
 
 Six bus routes - 4, 29, 153, 253, 254 and 259 - are being diverted. 
 
 Hilary Briffa, who lives opposite the mosque, told the Standard: “I heard a lot of yelling and people running, then loads of police cars and helicopters and fire engines started showing up. 
 
 "The response time was really impressive. 
 
 “The police aren’t giving much information away but a van definitely hit people exiting Finsbury park mosque after prayers. 
 
 “We think at least three people are seriously injured and a guy was arrested.” 
 
 A Met spokesman said officers were called at 12.20am to reports of a vehicle in collision with pedestrians. 
 
 They added: “Officers are on scene with other emergency services. There are a number of casualties being worked on at the scene. There has been one person arrested.” 
 
 It came weeks after three Islamist terrorists rammed a van into pedestrians on London Bridge before rampaging through Borough Market with knives, killing eight people before being shot dead by police. 
 
 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. 
 
 London Ambulance Service deputy director of operations Kevin Bate said: "We have sent a number of ambulance crews, advance paramedics and specialist response teams to the scene. 
 
 "An advance trauma team from London's Air Ambulance has also been dispatched by car. 
 
 "Our first priority is to assess the level and nature of injuries and ensure those in the most need are treated first and taken to hospital." 
 
 Cynthia Vanzella said on Twitter: "Horrible to watch police officers doing cardiac massage at people on the floor, desperately trying to save them. I just hope they did." 
 
 The chairman of the mosque at Finsbury Park, Mohammed Kozbar, tweeted: "Our thoughts and prayers with those who got injured and effected by this cowardly attack in Finsbury Park area, many casualties in the floor." 
 
 This story is being updated ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Footage shows the suspected attacker being tackled to the ground before the police arrive 
 
 A terror attack near a London mosque is "every bit as sickening" as others in recent weeks, Theresa May says. 
 
 A man drove a van into worshippers close to Muslim Welfare House in Finsbury Park as they were gathered to help an elderly man who had collapsed. 
 
 He later died, but it is not clear if this was a result of the attack. Nine other people were taken to hospital. 
 
 A 47-year-old man was held on suspicion of attempted murder and later further arrested over alleged terror offences. 
 
 Scotland Yard said he was being held on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of terrorism including murder and attempted murder. 
 
 Searches are also being carried out at an address in the Cardiff area. 
 
 Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said the incident in north London was "quite clearly an attack on Muslims", and the community would now see more police, including armed officers, in the area, "particularly around religious establishments". 
 
 It is the fourth terror attack in the UK in three months, after incidents in Westminster, Manchester and on London Bridge. 
 
 Police said all the victims of the attack shortly after midnight were Muslim and many were believed to have just left evening prayers after breaking the Ramadan fast. 
 
 Several of the injured are believed to be seriously hurt. London Ambulance Service said a number of other people were treated at the scene for minor injuries. 
 
 Security Minister Ben Wallace said the suspect was not known to the security services, and was believed to have acted alone. 
 
 The prime minister said police declared it a terrorist incident within eight minutes and a white man in his 40s was now in custody. 
 
 Mrs May was speaking after chairing a meeting of the government's emergency Cobra committee. 
 
 Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The prime minister and the Met Police commissioner met faith leaders at Finsbury Park Mosque 
 
 "It was an attack that once again targeted the ordinary and the innocent going about their daily lives - this time British Muslims as they left a mosque having broken their fast and prayed together at this sacred time of year," she said. 
 
 She added that "there has been far too much tolerance of extremism over many years". 
 
 "It is a reminder that terrorism, extremism and hatred take many forms; and our determination to tackle them must be the same whoever is responsible." 
 
 After making her statement outside Downing Street, the prime minister visited Finsbury Park Mosque, which is also close to the scene of the incident, where she held talks with faith leaders. 
 
 Eyewitness Abdul Rahman told the BBC: "When the guy came out from his van he wanted to escape, run away, and he was saying 'I want to kill Muslims. 'I want to kill Muslims.' 
 
 "I hit him on his stomach... and then me and the other guys... we held him to the ground until he couldn't move. We stopped him until the police came." 
 
 Adil Rana, 24, said "people were punching him and beating him, which was reasonable because of what he's done". 
 
 The imam of Muslim Welfare House - which is also a community centre - said a passing police van was flagged down after the attack. 
 
 Mohammed Mahmoud told reporters: "We told them the situation - there's a man, he's restrained, he mowed down a group of people with his van and there is a mob attempting to hurt him and if you don't take him then, God forbid, he might be seriously hurt. 
 
 "We pushed people away from him until he was safely taken by police." 
 
 Toufik Kacimi, chief executive of Muslim Welfare House, said the suspect had told those holding him "you deserve it" and was also saying "I did my bit". 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Finsbury Park Imam Mohamed Mahmoud says the community in Finsbury Park is "mild-mannered, calm" 
 
 Another witness, who gave his name as Abdul, told the BBC the suspect was shouting "kill me, I've done my job". 
 
 Earlier, police also said the arrested man would be the "subject of a mental health assessment in due course". 
 
 Image copyright EPA Image caption Police forensic experts have been at the scene of the attack 
 
 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: "While this appears to be an attack on a particular community, like the terrible attacks in Manchester, Westminster and London Bridge it is also an assault on all our shared values of tolerance, freedom and respect." 
 
 Thee mayor has also reiterated his calls for the government to provide more funding to the Met Police. 
 
 BBC home affairs correspondent Dominic Casciani said it was not the first time that Muslims - and specifically visible Muslim targets, namely mosques - had been targeted in an act of terrorism in the UK. 
 
 The threat from extreme right-wing groups has been growing in recent years, he said, noting that 16% of all terror arrests in the year to March were classed as "domestic extremism". 
 
 At the scene 
 
 By Cherry Wilson, BBC News 
 
 Locals say this is a proudly multicultural area, where the biggest rivalry is whether you support Arsenal or their north London rivals, Tottenham. 
 
 Now the mood here is one of shock, as residents stand by the police cordon seeing the aftermath of yet another attack in London. 
 
 Mother-of-four Nicola Senior, 43, is walking back from taking her children to school when she stops to take in the scene. 
 
 She said: "I'm frightened. Is there going to be retaliation? 
 
 "I am fearful for my kids. Can we go to the park? Can we go to the church? It feels like this is happening all the time." 
 
 'Everyone is on edge' after attack 
 
 Forensics officers are examining a white van which has Pontyclun Van Hire on it - a firm from Rhondda Cynon Taff in south Wales. 
 
 The firm said in a statement that it was "shocked and saddened" and co-operating with the police. 
 
 A dangerous juncture in the battle against extremism 
 
 Image copyright Reuters 
 
 By BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner 
 
 This incident risks playing right into the hands of those planning further attacks on vulnerable citizens in the UK. 
 
 Online followers of the so-called Islamic State have been quick to seize on the Finsbury Park attack as proof of what they see as widespread hostility towards Muslims who live in the West. Inevitably, it will be used by recruiters and propagandists to incite further attacks - extremism breeds extremism. 
 
 The one thing that far right anti-Muslim extremists and violent jihadists have in common is the belief that peaceful coexistence between Muslim and non-Muslim is impossible. 
 
 The unified prayers and solidarity across communities that followed recent terror attacks are anathema to them. Extremists of both types want instead to divide society and will keep trying to bring this about by criminal acts of provocation such as this. 
 
 The Muslim Council of Britain said this was the "most violent manifestation to date" of recent Islamophobic incidents. 
 
 "We expect the authorities to increase security outside mosques as a matter of urgency." 
 
 Mohammed Kozbar, general secretary of Finsbury Park Mosque, gave a statement on behalf of a joint faiths group. 
 
 He said that "an attack on one faith is an attack on all faith and communities". 
 
 The group has appealed for calm, adding that "all of our efforts should be towards getting justice for the victims and ensuring our community stays the diverse, tolerant and welcome place we know it to be". 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Abdulrahman Aidroos describes how he and others detained the suspected attacker 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Theresa May said "hatred and evil" will never succeed 
 
 Home Secretary Amber Rudd described it as an appalling incident, and said new funding for security at religious sites had recently been arranged. 
 
 "We will make sure that we do all we can to reduce these sort of attacks," she added. 
 
 Labour's shadow home secretary and Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP Diane Abbott said on Twitter that police "must urgently review security for all mosques". 
 
 Labour leader and Islington North MP Jeremy Corbyn has also visited the area, telling the BBC that "an attack on a mosque, an attack on a synagogue, an attack on a church is actually an attack on all of us". 
 
 "We have to protect each other's faith, each other's way of life, and that's what makes us a strong society and community." 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Corbyn: People must be free to practise their faith 
 
 Mr Corbyn attended prayers at Finsbury Park Mosque with Islington Council Leader Richard Watts. 
 
 Communities Secretary Sajid Javid has also been to the area, where he met residents and community leaders. 
 
 Speaking to the BBC, he said it was a "despicable attack" which was intended to divide society, but added: "That will fail. These perpetrators will never succeed." 
 
 Mr Javid also said he wanted to reassure Muslims around the UK that the government would "always take a zero tolerance approach to hate crime". 
 
 Image copyright Reuters Image caption People have been leaving flowers near the scene of the attack
– In what authorities say is being treated as a terrorist attack, at least one person was killed when a van plowed into worshippers outside a mosque in north London early Monday. Police say a 48-year-old man was arrested after the vehicle ran into people that had left Finsbury Park Mosque just after midnight, the BBC reports. Witnesses say it was clear that the man was deliberately trying to run people over. "There were loads of people coming out and the van took a left and went straight into them," a worshipper tells the Evening Standard. "The crowd caught a guy. He tried to do a London Bridge thing." At least eight people were injured. Some witnesses said the driver attempted to stab people after the attack, though local hospitals say they are not treating anybody with stab wounds. The van is believed to have been rented in Wales. London Mayor Sadiq Khan condemned the attack as an assault on "innocent Londoners, many of whom were finishing prayers during the holy month of Ramadan"—and on "all our shared values of tolerance, freedom, and respect," the Guardian reports. Khan said extra police have been deployed to protect communities celebrating Ramadan. The New York City Police Department says it has also sent additional police officers to protect mosques.