Muslims who shielded Finsbury Park attack suspect from angry crowd praised
Muslims, led by an imam, who shielded the suspected attacker in the Finsbury Park terror attack have been praised for preventing an angry crowd from attacking him before he was arrested by police.
Abdulrahman Aidroos, who had attended prayer at Finsbury Park Mosque, tackled and protected the suspect, despite him allegedly saying he wanted to "kill more" Muslims.
He and others held the suspect on the ground for around 20 minutes while imam Mohammed Mahmoud told surrounding worshippers: "Do not touch him."
The 48-year-old suspect was arrested by police after a van was driven into a crowd shortly after 12.20am in north London.
"I managed to put him to the ground until police came," Mr Aidroos told ITV's This Morning.
"I asked him repeatedly: 'Why did you do this. Why have you done this?'
Mr Aidroos added the driver had only responded "kill me".
Several people were seriously injured when a van ploughed into them as they left the mosque in north London shortly after midnight on Monday.
Scotland Yard's Deputy Assistant Commissioner was later among those to praise the actions of those who helped detain the suspect.
Other witnesses have described how they also wrestled the suspected terrorist to the ground - but stopped others from hitting him until officers took over.
One of those, Adil Rana, 24, said: "The driver jumped out and then he was pinned down to the floor and people were punching him and beating him, which was reasonable because of what he's done.
"And then the imam of the mosque actually came out and said: 'Don't hit him, hand him over to the police, pin him down'."
After police arrested the suspect on suspicion of attempted murder, the Met's Neil Basu praised those members of the public who had helped prevent him from coming to harm.
He described their restraint in the circumstances as "commendable".
And the Muslim Welfare House said Mr Mahmoud's "bravery and courage helped calm the immediate situation after the incident and prevented further injuries and potential loss of life".