Imam Praised for Protecting Suspect After London Mosque Attack
When a man attacked a crowd outside his mosque, imam Mohammed Mahmoud made sure no one harmed him.
Neil Hall/REUTERS / Reuters
When a man drove a van into a crowd outside a mosque in London, imam Mohammed Mahmoud made sure no one harmed the suspect.
After celebrating Ramadan late Sunday, Muslim worshippers in North London left Finsbury Park Mosque to return home. As a crowd gathered to give first aid to a sick man, a van rammed into the group. Witnesses say the driver, 47-year-old white man Darren Osborne, jumped out and allegedly yelled, “I’m going to kill all Muslims!”
One man has died and eight more are injured from the terror attack, with at least two in “very serious” condition, police say.
Attack survivors, one of whom was the mosque’s imam, restrained the suspect, ensuring his safety from violence.
When Mahmoud later spoke outside a police station, he said, “We found that a group of people quickly started to collect around the assailant and some tried to hit him with either kicks or punches.”
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According to a witness, Mahmoud told angry bystanders, “Don’t hit [the suspect]. Hand him over to the police—pin him down.”
Many are praising Mahmoud’s level-headed, peaceful response.
“People grabbed [the driver] outside and started hitting him,” Toufik Kacimi, chief executive of the Muslim Welfare House said. “Our imam, Mohammad Mahmoud, went there and saved him… The imam of the mosque saved the life of the attacker.”
But the imam deflected individual praise.
“It wasn’t me alone,” he said.
“It was touching our non-Muslim neighbours woke us up this morning to give us their support,” Mahmoud added. “It is proof that the fabric of this society is not torn, but that we have to continue to keep the fabric of society, and this community of London, intact.”
Monday’s incident is Britain’s fourth terrorist attack in just three months.
Watch Mahmoud’s heroic actions below. (From SkyNews)
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