'YELLING, SCREECHING, CHAOS'
Eyewitnesses reveal horror moment van ploughed into Muslims outside Finsbury Park mosque
WITNESSES have described scenes of chaos after a van ploughed into Muslim worshippers leaving a mosque in London’s Finsbury Park.
One person has been killed and 10 others injured in a terror attack by a van driver who reportedly screamed "I'm going to kill all Muslims" as he crashed into a group of pedestrians.
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Police raced to Seven Sisters Road near the Muslim Welfare House mosque and arrested a 48-year-old man - suspected to be the driver - who had been pinned down by heroic bystanders.
Witnesses say the wounded were out late for worship after fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Cynthia Vanzella, who lives opposite the scene, told The Sun: "It was really ugly. I saw at least two people on the floor not moving and police officers trying to do chest massage on them desperately trying to save them. I just hope they did."
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She also spoke to BBC News and said: "From the window, I started hearing a lot of yelling and screeching, a lot of chaos outside. Everybody was shouting: 'A van's hit people, a van's hit people'.
"There was this white van stopped outside Finsbury Park mosque that seemed to have hit people who were coming out after prayers had finished.
"I didn't see the attacker himself, although he seems to have been arrested, but I did see the van."
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Another eyewitness told Press Association: "People were just conversing, talking, just doing what we're doing. And he just came into all of us. There was a lot of people.
"I was shocked, shocked, shocked. There were bodies around me.
"Thank God I just moved to the side, I just jumped. Everyone is hurt."
Another witness called Khalid told BBC Breakfast onlookers lifted up the van to help a man who was trapped underneath.
He said: "One of them was under the van, people were gathered around the van to actually lift the van up to get this guy out from under the van."
Eyewitness Ivn Omar told BBC it was "pandemonium".
"People screaming, people crying.
"After his attack the police arrested him and he was gloating and laughing."
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Mohammed Kozbar, chairman of Finsbury Park mosque, told The Sun: “Whoever did this, he did it to hurt people and it’s a terrorist attack.
“We call it a terrorist attack as we called it in Manchester, Westminster and London Bridge.
“The van drove over people who were leaving late prayers. They were gathering in Seven Sisters Road.
“I heard there are fatalities but I don’t want to jump to conclusions.
“My concern now is the casualties who have been affected.”
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Andrew, a courier who did not wish to give his surname, said he saw three people on the floor.
The 45-year-old, of St Albans, Hertfordshire, said he was driving back from a night shift when he saw the aftermath of the collision.
He said: "When I drove past slowly I could count three people on the floor and police were performing CPR on one of them.
"The guy having CPR performed on him was in a gown, ethnic clothing."
"There was this white van stopped outside Finsbury Park mosque that seems to have hit people who were coming out of the mosque after prayers finished."
Shocking footage shows injured victims in the street while another man’s head injury was treated with a makeshift dressing.
The incident comes just two weeks after the London Bridge terror attack, where three radical Islamists used a hire van to mow people down before they stabbed people at nearby restaurants and bars.
Eight people were killed and 50 injured on June 3 in the atrocity.
What we know so far:
- A van ran down pedestrians on Seven Sisters Road in Finsbury Park, North London just after 12:20am on Monday morning
- One man was killed and eight people were injured outside Finsbury Park mosque as worshippers left a late evening prayer meeting
- Photos allegedly of the motor used in the smash show it baring the logo of a Wales-based rental company
- Scotland Yard confirmed a man, 48, had been arrested at the scene following a massive armed response
- He reportedly screamed "kill me, kill all Muslims" as hero bystanders tackled him to the ground
- Police put up a huge cordon around the area and a Metropolitan Police helicopter was seen circling overhead
- Prime Minister Theresa May described the apparent attack as "terrible incident", while Jeremy Corbyn said he was "totally shocked"
- It is not yet clear if Scotland Yard are treating the incident as a terror attack, but counter-terror cops are investigating
- It comes just over two weeks after a rental van was used to mow down pedestrians during the London Bridge attack
Were you on Seven Sisters Road in Finsbury Park, North London during the time of the incident? We want to hear from you. Call 0207 782 4368 or email [email protected]