1 dead after van hits worshippers near North London mosque
The Prime Minister says it's being treated as a 'potential terrorist attack'
Last updated 19th Jun 2017
A man has been arrested after a van was driven into worshippers near a north London mosque.
Witnesses described seeing police giving emergency medical treatment to victims after the incident at 12.20am on Monday in Seven Sisters Road, Finsbury Park.
Many of the victims are believed to have just finished worshipping at the Finsbury Park mosque after breaking the Ramadan fast.
The Metropolitan Police described the attack as a "major incident'' and said one person was in custody and there were "a number of casualties'',
London Ambulance Service said: "We have sent a number of resources to an incident in Seven Sisters Road.''
Pictures posted on social media show more than a dozen emergency vehicles at the scene.
The Muslim Council of Britain has called for extra security around mosques, describing the Finsbury Park van attack as "the most violent manifestation'' of Islamophobia.
The council's secretary general Harun Khan said he expected authorities to step up security "as a matter of urgency'', adding many would feel "terrorised'' following the incident outside the Muslim Welfare House in Seven Sisters Road.
He said: "According to eyewitness accounts and videos taken after the incident, it appears that a white man in a van intentionally ploughed into a group of worshippers who were already tending to someone who had been taken ill.
"We do not know how many were injured or killed, but our prayers are with the victims and families.
"During the night, ordinary British citizens were set upon while they were going about their lives, completing their night worship. It appears from eyewitness accounts that the perpetrator was motivated by Islamophobia.
Prime Minister Theresa May has described the attack on worshippers near Finsbury Park mosque as a "terrible incident'', adding: "All my thoughts are with those who have been injured, their loved ones and the emergency services on the scene.''
Labour leader and local Islington North MP Jeremy Corbyn expressed his shock at what had happened, writing on Twitter: "I'm totally shocked at the incident at Finsbury Park tonight.
"I've been in touch with the mosques, police and Islington council regarding the incident. My thoughts are with those and the community affected by this awful event.''
During Ramadan - the name of the ninth month in the Islamic calendar and the holiest time of their year - Muslims fast daily from dawn to dusk and focus on prayer, purification and acts of charity.
This year Ramadan began on May 26th and ends on Saturday June 24th.