Finsbury Park Vigil Sees Hundreds of People Lay Flowers In Show Of Unity

Solidarity with Muslim worshippers.
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Hundreds of people have laid flowers at the scene of the attack on Muslim worshippers in Finsbury Park in a show of unity and defiance.

The vigil took place less than 24 hours after a white van ploughed into people leaving midnight prayers on north London’s Seven Sisters Road, which resulted in one death and nine injuries.

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People prepare to lay flowers outside the Muslim Welfare House near the scene of the terror attack
Dan Kitwood via Getty Images

The scene was captured perfectly by James Bevan.

Brendan Cox, the widowed husband of murdered MP Jo Cox, and London mayor Sadiq Khan were among those in attendance.

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Barcroft Media via Getty Images
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ISABEL INFANTES via Getty Images
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Dan Kitwood via Getty Images
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Dan Kitwood via Getty Images
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ISABEL INFANTES via Getty Images

Khan told the crowd:

“London is a resilient city. We are the greatest city in the world.

“We’ve had a terrible few weeks though - with the terrorist attack on Westminster Bridge, the terror attack at London Bridge, and the awful, awful fire at Grenfell Towers. And of course last night, Seven Sisters.

“But we are a strong city, and after this, we are going to show we are stronger, more united.

“One of the things that all these terrorists share is perverse ideology that wants to divide our community - we’re not going to let them.”

 

Rabbi Herschel Gluck said during the vigil last night: “The attack last night, even though it affected 10, 12 people, that is only what it affected physically, but actually it hurt, and it was an attack on every single Muslim in the UK and beyond.

“But really an attack on the Muslim community is an attack on every single citizen in Great Britain because we are one nation, under one god, living together, working together, cooperating together.”

The Government quickly described Finsbury Park as a “potential terrorist attack”. It follows three Islamist attacks in three months - two in London and one in Manchester - that have shaken the nation.

The suspect was not known to the security services, minister Ben Wallace has said.

A 47-year-old man remains in custody and is being held for terrorism offences. Multiple reports have named him as Darren Osborne, a father-of-four who lives in Cardiff.

Worshippers were injured as they left the Muslim Welfare House after midnight prayers during Ramadan.  

The man who died was already receiving first aid from members of the public and it is not yet known if his death was caused by the attack, Metropolitan Police deputy assistant commissioner Neil Basu said. 

During Ramadan - the name of the ninth month in the Islamic calendar and the holiest time of their year - Muslims fast daily from dawn to dusk and focus on prayer, purification and acts of charity.

This year Ramadan began on May 26 and ends on Saturday June 24.