London mosque attacker identified: Neighbours describe him as ‘aggressive’,‘strange’

The man who drove a van into people outside a mosque in north London has been identified as 47-year-old Darren Osborne, a father of four described by neighbours as “aggressive”.

The man who drove a van into a group of people outside a mosque in north London has been identified as Cardiff-based Darren Osborne, who was described by neighbours as “aggressive” and “strange”.

Police officers stand outside the home of Darren Osborne in Cardiff, Wales, on June 20, 2017. Osborne was named by British media as the man suspected of driving a rented van into worshippers after they left prayers at a north London mosque. (Reuters)

Osborne, a 47-year-old married father of four, was apprehended by the public and handed over to police, a move that was widely welcomed. Britain’s political establishment equated the incident with two recent terror attacks on Westminster and London bridges.

Prime Minister Theresa May said the “hatred and evil” seen in the attack was “every bit as insidious and destructive to our values and our way of life” as the recent string of attacks apparently motivated by Islamist extremism. She added: “We will stop at nothing to defeat it.”

Given the growing number of such incidents, Scotland Yard on Tuesday said 1,800 more officers will be equipped with tasers, which deliver an electric shock to the target. A taser reduces the need for physical contact and the risk of unintended or unnecessary injuries to all parties.

The police searched Osborne’s home close to the Cardiff golf club in the northeast of the city suburbs. There was no immediate evidence that he was an active member of a far right organisation. He is being held on suspicion of attempted murder and alleged terror offences.

According to security minister Ben Wallace, Osborne was not known to security services. “What I can say on this case is, this individual, so far as we know at the moment, was not known to us, but we are aware of a rise in the far right,” he said.

Osborne was reportedly born in Singapore and his mother, sister and nephew live in Weston-super-Mare, near Bristol, southwest England.

His mother, Christine Osborne, described him in a telephone interview with ITV News as a “complex” person but said: “That’s all I can say. It’s a terrible, terrible shock.”

Osborne rammed a van into pedestrians outside the mosque in Finsbury Park, north London, on Monday. A man who was receiving first aid at the time of the attack, died on the scene but it was unclear if his death was a result of he attack. Ten others were injured.

According to witnesses, Osborne had been heard shouting “I want to kill all Muslims”.