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| Mohammed Saleem stabbing: Man admits murder and mosque blasts | Mohammed Saleem stabbing: Man admits murder and mosque blasts |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A Ukrainian student has admitted murdering an 82-year-old man who was walking home from a Birmingham mosque. | A Ukrainian student has admitted murdering an 82-year-old man who was walking home from a Birmingham mosque. |
| Mohammed Saleem was stabbed by Pavlo Lapshyn in Small Heath on 29 April, less than a week after Lapshyn had arrived in the UK. | Mohammed Saleem was stabbed by Pavlo Lapshyn in Small Heath on 29 April, less than a week after Lapshyn had arrived in the UK. |
| At the Old Bailey, 25-year-old Lapshyn pleaded guilty to murder, as well as plotting to cause explosions near mosques in Walsall, Tipton and Wolverhampton in June and July. | At the Old Bailey, 25-year-old Lapshyn pleaded guilty to murder, as well as plotting to cause explosions near mosques in Walsall, Tipton and Wolverhampton in June and July. |
| He will be sentenced on Friday. | He will be sentenced on Friday. |
| The postgraduate student, from Dnipropetrovsk in Ukraine, was living in Birmingham while on a temporary work placement in the city when he killed Mr Saleem. | The postgraduate student, from Dnipropetrovsk in Ukraine, was living in Birmingham while on a temporary work placement in the city when he killed Mr Saleem. |
| 'Evil and ill-informed' | |
| The grandfather of 22 had been attending prayers at the Small Heath mosque and was just yards away from his home when he was stabbed three times. | The grandfather of 22 had been attending prayers at the Small Heath mosque and was just yards away from his home when he was stabbed three times. |
| Later, Lapshyn planted three bombs near three mosques in the West Midlands as part of a campaign he said was motivated by racial hatred. | Later, Lapshyn planted three bombs near three mosques in the West Midlands as part of a campaign he said was motivated by racial hatred. |
| He was arrested almost a week after an explosion near the Kanzul Iman Masjid mosque in Tipton on 12 July. | He was arrested almost a week after an explosion near the Kanzul Iman Masjid mosque in Tipton on 12 July. |
| Assistant Chief Constable Marcus Beale described Lapshyn as a "self-starter" who would have been likely to go on to commit further offences, while in the UK on a year-long visa. | |
| "He was motivated through what he had learnt himself - he was operating alone and not part of wider group," he said. | "He was motivated through what he had learnt himself - he was operating alone and not part of wider group," he said. |
| "He is an evil and ill-informed man, he was extremely dangerous. | "He is an evil and ill-informed man, he was extremely dangerous. |
| "His motivation was that the white man was better than anyone else." | "His motivation was that the white man was better than anyone else." |
| After his initial arrest for planting the explosive device outside a mosque in Walsall, he told police: "I would like to increase racial conflict." | |
| When asked why he had targeted the mosque he replied: "Because they are not white - and I am white." | |
| 'Shrapnel and nails' | |
| Lapshyn was on placement at software company Delcam and his apartment above the company's offices was searched as part of police investigations. | |
| The company's chief executive Clive Martell said staff were staff were "deeply shocked and saddened by the events that unfolded over the summer" and had co-operated with the police inquiry. | |
| Det Supt Shaun Edwards, from the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit, said: "We found part-made devices in Lapshyn's room plus chemicals and bomb-making equipment, so it is clear he planned to place further devices with the intention of killing or maiming innocent members of the public. | Det Supt Shaun Edwards, from the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit, said: "We found part-made devices in Lapshyn's room plus chemicals and bomb-making equipment, so it is clear he planned to place further devices with the intention of killing or maiming innocent members of the public. |
| "All three of the devices he detonated were powerful but his final attack in Tipton was the first to feature shrapnel and nails. | "All three of the devices he detonated were powerful but his final attack in Tipton was the first to feature shrapnel and nails. |
| "He placed this near the mosque's car park with the intention of hitting worshippers as they arrived for prayers. | "He placed this near the mosque's car park with the intention of hitting worshippers as they arrived for prayers. |
| "Thankfully, the service had been put back an hour so the mosque was largely deserted when the bomb went off." | "Thankfully, the service had been put back an hour so the mosque was largely deserted when the bomb went off." |
| He said that during interviews Lapshyn had been keen to take credit for the attacks. | He said that during interviews Lapshyn had been keen to take credit for the attacks. |