London Police: Several casualties after vehicle collides with pedestrians

A road in north London is cordoned off in Finsbury Park, where police say a vehicle struck pedestrians, leaving several casualties. One person has been arrested.
A road in north London is cordoned off in Finsbury Park, where police say a vehicle struck pedestrians, leaving several casualties. One person has been arrested.
Yui Mok/AP

Updated 10:50 p.m. EST

London Police say they are investigating a “major incident” in North London after reports of a vehicle collision with pedestrians early Monday.

Metropolitan Police Service said officers were called at 12:20 a.m. local time, to the scene on Seven Sisters Road in Finsbury Park neighborhood, where many immigrants live.

“There are a number of casualties,” the U.K. police service said. “There has been one person arrested.”


London Ambulance Service tweeted that it was also sending emergency crews to the scene.

According to multiple reports and social media posts, the van ran over people leaving the Finsbury Park Mosque.

“We have been informed that a van has run over worshipers as they left #FinsburyPark Mosque,” the Muslim Council of Britain said on Twitter. “Our prayers are with the victims.”

According to the Council in a follow-up tweet, the van struck the victims closer to the Muslim Welfare House.

“The leader of the mosque will release a statement later but right now safety is our concern,” tweeted the Muslim Welfare House.

Between the two mosques in the neighborhood, several people observing the Muslim holy month of Ramadan would have been in the area at that time, leaving worship.

Finsbury Park Mosque Chairman Mohammed Kozbar tweeted his condolences of the “cowardly attack.”


Early this month, in what police called a terror attack, three Muslim extremists in a van veered into pedestrians on London Bridge, before attacking people with knives in the nearby Borough Market. Eight people were killed and dozens were wounded before police fatally shot the three attackers.

This is a developing story. Some things that get reported by the media will later turn out to be wrong. We will focus on reports from police officials and other authorities, credible news outlets and reporters who are at the scene. We will update as the situation develops.

Copyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

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