The attacker who drove through a crowd of Muslims leaving a Ramadan service in a North London mosque is in police custody thanks to a local imam who helped save his life. Were it not for the Imam, who has been identified as Mohammed Mahmoud, the suspect would not be alive today.
Cell phone recordings of the moments that followed the attack show several men pinning the suspect down and beginning to choke and beat him when the imam comes forth to break the violence up, reminding witnesses of the holy holiday and their duty to refrain from such vengeance at that particular time. He encouraged them to simply hold him until police arrived, which apparently wasn't an easy deed considering he had allegedly been mocking distressed onlookers with smiles and kisses.
Eight people were hospitalized as a result of the terror, which took place outside of the Muslim Welfare House, where the imam works. One man has been reported dead, however, it is said that he had coincidentally been receiving medical attention for an unrelated issue when the van came crashing in, thus it has not been determined whether his death was the result of the attack. The attacker, who is reported to have mentioned that he acted out in retaliation for the London Bridge attack, was arrested for suspicion of attempted murder.
Source: twitter.com
