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| Arrest after man set alight walking home from Birmingham mosque | |
| (31 minutes later) | |
| The man was set on fire in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham | |
| A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a man was set alight as he walked home from a mosque. | A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a man was set alight as he walked home from a mosque. |
| It happened in Edgbaston, Birmingham, just after 19:00 GMT on Monday. | |
| Counter terror police are involved in the investigation and are looking into whether there is a link to a similar attack in Ealing, west London. | |
| The victim, in his 70s, was walking home from the Birmingham mosque when a man approached, sprayed him with a substance and set his jacket on fire. | |
| The injured man was taken to hospital with burns to his face which are not thought to be life-threatening. | The injured man was taken to hospital with burns to his face which are not thought to be life-threatening. |
| A video of an attack shared on social media which shows a man being set alight is under investigation by police. | |
| 'Working through night' | |
| And police are also looking into whether a similar attack in west London, where an 82-year-old man was set on fire outside a mosque, is linked. | |
| The Metropolitan Police previously said the victim was attacked as he left the West London Islamic Centre on Singapore Road, in Ealing, at about 20:00 GMT on 27 February. | |
| The Birmingham suspect was arrested in Dudley Road, the street where the mosque is, on Tuesday after being identified by officers carrying out inquiries. The attack happened in nearby Shenstone Road. | |
| Ch Supt Richard North, commander at Birmingham police, said: "Our officers have been working through the night to establish what happened and who is responsible. | |
| "We are taking this matter extremely seriously and are using all resources available to us. | |
| "We are keeping an open mind to the motive of the attacker and we won't speculate further at this stage." | |
| He added: "Our investigation continues with support from Counter Terrorism Policing West Midlands who have access to specialist capabilities to help establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident." | |
| In a joint statement, the city council's leader Ian Ward, cabinet member for community safety John Cotton and ward councillors Sharon Thompson and Marcus Bernasconi called it a "horrific attack". | |
| They also said they would be talking with community groups and local mosques "to offer support to the wider community". | |
| "We would urge the community to work with the police and to avoid any speculation at this stage," they added. | |
| Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: newsonline.westmidlands@bbc.co.uk | |
| Related Topics | Related Topics |
| Birmingham | |
| London | |
| Ealing | |
| Edgbaston | Edgbaston |