Finsbury Park Mosque: Police confirm all victims of suspected terror attack are Muslim
Witnesses report attacker shouting 'I'm going to kill all Muslims' during rampage
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Police have confirmed all the victims of a suspected terror attack near a mosque in north London are Muslim.
One man has died and several more are injured after a van drove into a group of people in Finsbury Park shortly after midnight on Monday morning.
Counter terror police are investigating the incident, where eight people were taken to hospital and two more were treated at the scene.
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Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, senior national coordinator for counter terrorism, said: “From 00:21hrs this morning police received a number calls to Seven Sisters Road following a van having collided with pedestrians.
“Officers were in the immediate vicinity as the attack unfolded and responded instantly. Additional officers arrived within 10 minutes. One man was pronounced dead at the scene. Eight others are in hospital and two more were treated at the scene.
“All the victims were from the Muslim community."
Mr Basu added that the man who died on the scene was already receiving first aid from members of the public and it is not yet known if his death was caused by the attack.
Eye witnesses said the attacker was heard saying: "I'm going to kill all Muslims, I'm going to kill all Muslims” as he carried out the attack.
One eye witness, who did not want to give his real name, told reporters: "I managed to get the driver of the van when he came out of his van. He wanted to run away and was saying, 'I want to kill Muslims',"
"So he came back to the main road and I managed to get him to the ground and me and some other guys managed to hold him until the police arrived, for about 20 minutes I think, until the police arrived."
Police praised members of the public for detaining the man suspected of being the driver of the van, who was arrested by police on suspicion of attempted murder.
“I would like to praise police officers who immediately gave life saving treatment at the scene, but also members of the public who assisted before and after the incident," said Mr Basu.
“Also at the scene, detained by members of the public, was the man suspected of being the driver. He was arrested by police on suspicion of attempted murder.
“I would like to thank those people who helped police in detaining the man and worked with officers to calmly and quickly get him into our custody."
No other suspects have been identified or reported, and there were no reports of any people having suffered any knife injuries, police said.
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