A van drives into a crowd outside a north London mosque

Just after 12am on Monday a white van travelling at about 50mph struck a crowd of people outside the Muslim Welfare House on Seven Sisters Road, just a few hundred metres from the Finsbury Park mosque in north London. The streets were busy because it was shortly after evening prayers had finished.

A 48-year-old man suspected of being the driver of the van was arrested at the scene by police. The suspect, described by witnesses as a large white man, was detained with the help of members of the public. Two witnesses reported seeing three people leave the van; however, police said no other suspects had been identified or reported to them.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A van believed to be involved in the incident near Finsbury Park mosque. Photograph: Carl Court/Getty Images

A witness, Abdikadar Warfa, told the Guardian he and and others caught hold of the van driver, who threw kicks and punches as he tried to escape.

He tried to run away, he tried to escape. Some people were hitting him. He was fighting to run away. I heard the sound of the van crashing. One person was under the van, some were run over. My friend said he had to lift the van. I was busy with a man who tried to escape. My friend said he said some words, but I didn’t hear it.

Another witness said the driver was pinned to the ground by onlookers after saying: “I want to kill Muslims.”

Police said in a statement that one man was pronounced dead at the scene. The London ambulance service said the eight injured were taken to three hospitals and at least two others were treated at the scene for minor injuries.

The diverse community of Finsbury Park

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Local people observe prayers on the streets at Finsbury Park Photograph: Yui Mok/PA

Finsbury Park, a typically diverse London suburb north of the city centre, is home to many nationalities. Although it is undergoing a lot of gentrification (a theatre has opened in recent years, and a branch of the ubiquitous sandwich chain Pret A Manger) it is populated by people from all walks of life and retains a strong working-class flavour. The local MP is the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who won a huge 33,000-majority in this month’s general election.



Recent terror attacks in London

The Finsbury Park attack comes after two similar attacks in London in which pedestrians were struck by vehicles.

On 22 March, a man drove a car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge and entered parliament armed with a knife. Five people died, including the British-born attacker and a police officer.

On 3 June, a white van struck pedestrians on London Bridge and continued towards Borough Market, where three attackers were shot dead by police. Eight people died and another 48 were injured.