2017 Finsbury Park Attack
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Overview
2017 Finsbury Park Attack was a terrorist attack carried out by a white male near the Finsbury Park mosque in north London on June 19th, 2017. The incident began when a 48-year-old white man drove over the curb outside the Muslim Welfare House as people were leaving nearby prayer services and breaking Ramadan fast, leaving one person dead and 10 injured. Within minutes, the attack was labeled a terrorist attack as the attacker was reported saying, "I want to kill Muslims. I want to kill Muslims."
Background
On June 19th, 2017 at about 12:20 am (local time), a crowd from a nearby mosque had gathered to help an elderly Muslim man who had fallen down on Whadcoat Road. Just then, a white van drove onto the curb outside of the Muslim Welfare House on Seven Sisters Road in Finsbury Park, London, hitting several people helping the man and were taking part in the evening prayers after breaking Ramadan fast at the nearby Finsbury Park Mosque. People on the scene restrained the van's driver, a 48-year-old white male.
2017 Terror Attacks in the UK
The Finsbury Park attack marks the fourth major terrorist attack in England this year. In March, another deadly vehicular assault in Westminster, followed by a suicide bomber at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, and finally, a second vehicle attack. These attacks have killed at least 30 people and injured dozens more.
Developments
Following the attack, people on the scene restrained the driver as a local Imam, a Muslim prayer leader, stopped the crowd from attack the attacker. Within minutes, emergency services were called. Eyewitnesses reported that the attacker attempted to run while screaming "I want to kill Muslims."
Footage shows the moment crowds restrain man suspected of driving van into pedestrians near #FinsburyPark mosquehttps://t.co/CBG8mzBpgY pic.twitter.com/NtYoQbLGXC
β BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) June 19, 2017
Emergency Response
That day, Police confirmed the death of one victim, the same person the crowd had attempted to help just before the attack. Furthermore, they had confirmed that as many as nine people were being treated at nearby hospitals and some were in serious condition. All victims were Muslims, according to police.
Online Reaction
That day, Twitter published several Moments pages about the attack, including ones on the Imam who protected the attacker,[2] Theresa May's response,[3] eyewitness accounts[4][5] and more. On Reddit, a thread entitled "Van hits pedestrians near Finsbury Park Mosque in London" received more than 43,000 points (80% upvoted) and 15,000 comments within 15 hours.[6]
Media Coverage
The morning of the attack, virtually all national news outlets covered the incident, including BBC, The New York Times,[7] The Washington Post,[8] CNN[9] and more. The subsequent vigil and capture of a suspect was covered internationally in news outlets including News 18 (Russia),[15] The Japan Times,[16] The Guardian (UK),[17] China Daily,[18] and many more worldwide.
Government Response
Later that day, British Prime Minister Theresa May condemned the incident as a terrorist attack,[19] calling "it every bit as sickening as those which have come before" (video below, left).
Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn visited the scene and said that "an attack on a mosque, an attack on a synagogue, an attack on a church is actually an attack on all of us." (video below, right).
Tommy Robinson Controversy
That day, former English Defence League (EDL) leader Tommy Robinson tweeted "Before people start aiming hate or threats at me about this revenge attack at your mosque tonight,I've warned for yrs what u will create."[10] The tweet (shown below, left) received more than 1,100 retweets and 3,300 likes in 12 hours. He followed this tweet with another, writing "The mosque where the attack happened tonight has a long history of creating terrorists & radical jihadists & promoting hate & segregation."[11] The second tweet (shown below, right) received more than 3,100 retweets and 5,700 likes in 12 hours.
After people took issue with Robinson's comments, claiming that he was inciting hatred and attempting to justify the attack, Robinson tweeted twice more (below, left and right, respectively). First, he said, "im not justifying it,I've said many times if government or police don't sort these centres of hate they will create monsters as seen tonight."[12] He then wrote, "I genuinely hope the innocent people targeted tonight outside the mosque are ok."[13]
Finally, he posted a video to his Facebook account, explaining his views on the attack. The post receied more than 670,000 views, 34,000 reactions, and 12,100 likes.[14]
Search Interest
External References
[1] BBC β Finsbury Park attack: What we know so far
[2] Twitter β Mosque Imam guarded Finsbury Park suspect until police arrived
[3] Twitter β Theresa May condemns extremism after Finsbury Park attack
[4] Twitter β Eyewitnesses describe attack on Finsbury Park mosque crowd
[5] Twitter β One dead, 10 injured in terror attack outside a London mosque
[6] Reddit β Van hits pedestrians near Finsbury Park Mosque in London
[7] The New York Times β U.K. Police Investigating Van Attack in London as Terrorism
[8] The Washington Post β Van strikes crowd near London mosques in βterrorist attackβ
[9] CNN β Theresa May condemns 'sickening' attack on Finsbury Park Muslims
[10] Twitter β @TRobinsonNewEra's Tweet
[11] Twitter β @TRobinsonNewEra's Tweet
[12] Twitter β @TRobinsonNewEra's Tweet
[13] Twitter β @TRobinsonNewEra's Tweet
[14] Facebook β Tommy Robinson's Post
[15] News 18 β Londoners Hold Vigil For Finsbury Park Terror Attack Victims
[16] The Japan Times β Van attack targets worshippers after prayers at London mosque
[17] The Guardian β Finsbury Park attack suspect was probably 'self-radicalised'
[18] China Daily β UK moves to ease tensions after van attack on London Muslims
[19] Reuters β TEXT-UK Prime Minister May's statement following London attack
Top Comments
Firbious
Jun 19, 2017 at 01:17PM EDT
Penis Miller
Jun 19, 2017 at 03:01PM EDT