Man Arrested After Stabbing Imam in London's Regent's Park Mosque

Published February 21st, 2020 - 06:54 GMT
A picture shows the London Central Mosque near Regent's Park in London on February 20, 2020 after a man was stabbed in the mosque. British police said on Febrary 20 they had arrested a man on suspicion of attempted murder after a stabbing at a mosque in central London. ISABEL INFANTES / AFP
A picture shows the London Central Mosque near Regent's Park in London on February 20, 2020 after a man was stabbed in the mosque. British police said on Febrary 20 they had arrested a man on suspicion of attempted murder after a stabbing at a mosque in central London. ISABEL INFANTES / AFP

A man was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of attempted murder after storming the Regent's Park Mosque in central London and stabbing an elderly muezzin - prayer leader - in his 70s, police said.

The Metropolitan Police force said officers were called to the London Central Mosque near Regent's Park where "a man in his 70s" was found with "stab injuries".

"He was treated by paramedics before being taken to hospital," the Metropolitan Police said. "His condition has been assessed as non life-threatening."

On Twitter, mosque-goers posted images of police holding a man down on the mosque floor. Witnesses said the injured man was the mosque's muezzin, the person who calls Muslims to prayers.

Footage posted online showed a young white man in a red hooded top being restrained by police officers.

The incident comes a day after a shooter with suspected far-right beliefs killed nine people at a shisha bar and a cafe in the German city of Hanau.

This article has been adapted from its original source. 

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