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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/sep/19/brent-mosque-london-three-injured-in-hit-and-run
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| Three injured in hit-and-run outside London mosque | Three injured in hit-and-run outside London mosque |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Three people have been injured in a hit-and-run incident outside a mosque in north-west London, in what police said may have been a hate crime. | Three people have been injured in a hit-and-run incident outside a mosque in north-west London, in what police said may have been a hate crime. |
| Three men and a woman, all in their mid-20s, allegedly shouted Islamophobic abuse outside the centre in Brent before the car they were in hit three men at speed and left the scene, the Metropolitan police said. | Three men and a woman, all in their mid-20s, allegedly shouted Islamophobic abuse outside the centre in Brent before the car they were in hit three men at speed and left the scene, the Metropolitan police said. |
| A man in his 50s remains in hospital receiving treatment for a serious leg injury, and two men in their 20s sustained minor injuries, the police said. | A man in his 50s remains in hospital receiving treatment for a serious leg injury, and two men in their 20s sustained minor injuries, the police said. |
| Terrorism has been ruled out but the force said the alleged hate crime aspect of the collision was “being looked at by detectives as an aggravating factor”. | Terrorism has been ruled out but the force said the alleged hate crime aspect of the collision was “being looked at by detectives as an aggravating factor”. |
| A spokesman for the Hussaini Association, which had organised a lecture at the mosque, said that the collision was “a suspected premeditated Islamophobic attack”. | A spokesman for the Hussaini Association, which had organised a lecture at the mosque, said that the collision was “a suspected premeditated Islamophobic attack”. |
| In a statement posted on social media, the association said a red Nissan Juke “swerved into innocent bystanders, hitting at least five people of which three were seriously injured”. | In a statement posted on social media, the association said a red Nissan Juke “swerved into innocent bystanders, hitting at least five people of which three were seriously injured”. |
| It said: “They were heard shouting anti-Islamic taunts at the crowd before they started their attack. Fortunately, a number of volunteers bravely stood between the speeding vehicle and patrons heading home. These acts of bravery potentially saved the lives of dozens of innocent people.” | It said: “They were heard shouting anti-Islamic taunts at the crowd before they started their attack. Fortunately, a number of volunteers bravely stood between the speeding vehicle and patrons heading home. These acts of bravery potentially saved the lives of dozens of innocent people.” |
| A witness said a car drove on to the pavement multiple times before ploughing into people in a deliberate attempt to hurt or kill people wearing Islamic dress. | |
| Ali Mashkour, 33, was helping with security at the event. He told the Guardian of scenes of horror during an attack that lasted about 20 seconds with the maroon vehicle driving on to and off the pavement three times. He said he saw one victim flung 10 feet into the air by the car and then dragged underneath it, and how he was terrified for his own life and those of others. | |
| Mashkour, a former special constable in the Met police, said the event finished just after midnight and he went outside: “I heard glass breaking and the revving of an engine and the screeching of tyres. The car came from a slip road where there was a car park. I was on Oxgate Lane. I saw the vehicle turn into Oxgate Lane. It was driving quite fast, around 30 miles per hour. It was in the middle of the road, then turned to come on to the pavement. | |
| “There was a crowd. It turned right, on to the pavement where I was standing. At first I was in shock. There was a child on my right-hand side, about eight years old. I grabbed him and threw him across the pavement, to get hm out the way, and then I jumped.” | |
| Mashkour said: “If I did not move him [the child] and then myself the kid would have been hit. I jumped out of the way and shouted [to other] ‘get out of the way’. | |
| “A man was behind me, in his 50s. The vehicle hit him, and he flew up into the air, above the height of the car, and then was dragged by the car, about four to five metres. He was lifted above the car.” | |
| Mashkour said the car then drove back on the road, then drove on to the pavement 20 to 30 metres away, and then did so again. He added: “I never thought I would freeze [in such a situation]. If I had not moved or moved the child, we would have been the first victims. | |
| “At first I thought the driver was unwell. when he did it multiple times I thought it was an attack. He mounted the curb multiple times to try and hurt or kill people. I don’t know if that’s terrorist, but it is definitely a hate crime.” | |
| The occupants of the car had been seen drinking and allegedly using drugs in a private car park near the community centre and had been asked to leave by security, police said. The car approached the centre where a confrontation broke out and some of those outside the centre caused minor damage to the car. The car then made off at speed. | The occupants of the car had been seen drinking and allegedly using drugs in a private car park near the community centre and had been asked to leave by security, police said. The car approached the centre where a confrontation broke out and some of those outside the centre caused minor damage to the car. The car then made off at speed. |
| DS Kelly Schonhage, of the Met, said: “We are treating this incident very seriously and a number of inquiries are under way to trace the car and those involved. Inquiries into the full circumstances of the collision are ongoing.” | |
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