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One Dead, At Least Eight Wounded after Van Hit Pedestrians in London; Muslim Welfare House Appeals for Calm; PM May Chairs Emergency Meeting after Van Incident; Van Driver Arrested; 1 Dead, At Least 8 Wounded after Van Hits London Pedestrians. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired June 19, 2017 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:00]
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): And I'm Max Foster in Finsbury Park in North London, where we continue to follow breaking news for you this hour.
It only happened just a few hours ago. We've got a situation where a van drove into a group of people who had been at prayer in the local mosque, a very famous mosque.
One person was declared dead on the scene, eight others have been taken to hospitals around London. A lot of anger also swelling up here as there has not yet been called a terror incident although lots of politicians calling it what looks like a terror incident.
The police haven't yet called it that. But a huge mass of fear and anger welling up.
What happened was a horror story. Saeed Hashi was right at the heart of what happened.
So you were across the road as the van drove into this crowd, right?
SAEED HASHI, EYEWITNESS: Yes, I was -- the first people who came out from the mosque because I was bringing outside, I was in the traffic in the mosque. So I was one of the first people who came out.
We crossed the road to check our bus and went to get a friend, who was (INAUDIBLE). And we was watching the bus coming from that direction obviously.
We see the van speeding.
FOSTER: So through the crowd?
HASHI: Yes -- sorry?
FOSTER: Through a crowd or on the road --
(CROSSTALK)
HASHI: No, it was speeding because I was looking at the bus. So the bus was speeding. So I thought maybe he's want to catch the traffic light because he was late from work.
But suddenly he turned right to the mosque. So I was -- that's then I was shocked and we were screaming and he cursed a woman, old Somali woman, was -- her 60. And then another two Moroccan or Nigerian guy.
But he drove fast. He hit another three, four, five, six, seven. And suddenly the car stopped. So we are on -- we went after him. We managed to get him out of the car.
FOSTER: You ran up to the van...
HASHI: Yes.
FOSTER: -- you pulled the guy out.
HASHI: Yes. But he punch me one on the head. It's (INAUDIBLE). And I called my friends. My friends, they came bringing the -- get him out of the car because of them, the friends, he -- from the other side and he pushed him from the vehicle.
And we get him out of car. And he's tough, fighting with us. He was a big, muscly guy. And police bus -- there's a police bus saw the situation and he didn't stop. He was --
(CROSSTALK)
FOSTER: Police went past?
HASHI: Yes.
FOSTER: But he didn't know what was going on?
HASHI: Yes. They thought it was a fight or something.
And we stopped the guy and we put him on the floor and people managed to call the police. And he bit me on my thumb as well.
FOSTER: Yes, you've got some bruising and injuries that you got -- your T-shirt's cut.
This was during the scuffle with him?
HASHI: Yes.
FOSTER: There were three of you, right?
HASHI: Yes.
FOSTER: You got him to the ground and you held him there for how long?
HASHI: For 10 minutes.
FOSTER: Until the police came?
HASHI: Yes.
FOSTER: Describe that 10 minutes.
HASHI: He was really shouting and aggressive but words and something like that. So we didn't talk to him but he was just spitting on us and like that.
FOSTER: There were crowds gathering around you.
HASHI: Yes.
FOSTER: And obviously people were angry.
(CROSSTALK)
HASHI: -- yes but we just managed him not to touch him and that.
FOSTER: What you're describing here is people wanted to attack him, right?
HASHI: Yes.
FOSTER: You were managing to keep --
HASHI: Yes.
FOSTER: -- people away from him.
HASHI: Yes.
FOSTER: And were you worried that the police wouldn't come?
I mean, what would -- knew that police would --
(CROSSTALK)
HASHI: We worried the police didn't come and the guy is going to get hurt and this situation getting worse.
FOSTER: I can't imagine what that was like to go through.
[02:05:00]
FOSTER: But looking back on that, what do you think about how you reacted and what the atmosphere was like there?
HASHI: Definitely shows he's full of anger because the last 10 days of Ramadan and we're here for worshiping, not for anything else. And it's a late time and we've got work to do as well at the same time. FOSTER: The atmosphere this morning is one of some anger because they're not necessarily pleased at the way it's been covered or the way politicians are talking about this incident.
What are your thoughts about that?
HASHI: We haven't seen nothing. We haven't seen helicopter above us. We haven't seen a police with a gun. They should have come with a gun immediately because there is a terror act.
FOSTER: You're saying there's a different response to this than there have been to other terror attacks?
HASHI: Yes. Soft -- I can describe soft respond, the police.
FOSTER: But you're a hero today.
Do you feel like a hero?
HASHI: Yes.
FOSTER: Do you feel -- ?
HASHI: No, I feel like a real but I did what I could the best to prevent him from the people and in the same --
(CROSSTALK)
FOSTER: Well, you saved lives. This guy was still alive with -- he's driven, we think, intentionally into a crowd.
HASHI: Yes, he was trying --
(CROSSTALK)
FOSTER: -- carry on.
HASHI: Yes, he was trying to carry on. But I managed him at first, when we run and --
FOSTER: Was he trying to reverse the vehicle --
(CROSSTALK)
FOSTER: -- so he could carry on with the --
(CROSSTALK)
FOSTER: -- probably didn't have a knife with him.
HASHI: Yes. He didn't have a knife with him --
(CROSSTALK)
HASHI: -- inside this car.
FOSTER: So this could have been so much worse. He couldn't carry on his attack.
HASHI: I've got only injuries but, thank God, (INAUDIBLE) he didn't get more than that.
FOSTER: Well, I think you're an incredibly brave person for doing what you did.
And do you think it was instinctive or did you think about what you did?
You just felt like you wanted to stop him?
(CROSSTALK)
HASHI: To be honest, I was in a shock of state (sic) -- state of shock. So I didn't know what --
(CROSSTALK)
HASHI: -- yes, automatically.
FOSTER: And also, the other thing you've achieved is you managed to keep him alive and that -- the police now have him and they can get to the bottom of why he didn't this. And that's really important.
HASHI: Yes, true. There's a people care who's a guy from the mosque, they were bringing bottles --
FOSTER: They wanted to attack him.
HASHI: Yes. And --
FOSTER: How much longer do you think you would have been able to keep him safe?
HASHI: No more than 10 minutes.
FOSTER: Really?
HASHI: Yes.
FOSTER: OK, well, our thoughts are with you, the whole community, but particularly with you and your heroism last night.
HASHI: I'm just heading to the hospital now.
FOSTER: Well, OK --
(CROSSTALK)
FOSTER: Look after yourself. We thank you very much indeed.
Lots of eyewitness testimony coming in to us. And they're all horrific stories. But it did happen very, very quickly so people are trying to still digest what happened to them.
But this is another eyewitness story for you.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
RAYAN, EYEWITNESS: So basically we were trying in mosque and then when we finished, everyone was leaving. I stayed behind to talk to someone.
After than, I heard some people shouting and screaming. So I went outside to see what's going on. People were saying, go inside; there is -- go inside, it's not safe.
Then obviously I didn't listen and then I kept walking and then the crime scene, I saw some people laying down. And badly injured, one of them, I believe, was dead.
And then police moved us here. That's it. That's what happened.
And also someone was arrested, I believe it was the criminal.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now a friend of yours was with someone was hit, we understand?
RAYAN: Sorry?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm being told that a friend of yours was with somebody who was hit --
RAYAN: Oh, yes --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- this van?
RAYAN: My friend -- my friend, her brother, was injured. I couldn't talk to her because police moved me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you know about those people who were injured?
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- all people from the mosque?
RAYAN: Yes. They're all of them from the mosque when they were leaving.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you see how many people were on the ground and may have been injured?
RAYAN: Well, at that time, there were four people and one of them, I believe, was dead. The rest were badly injured.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
FOSTER: We're expecting more updates on the police. The next one's going to be in about an hour, according to the Metropolitan Police. They're not going to be taking questions, though.
Phil Black is with me.
There's a lot of concern here, isn't there, about how the authorities are dealing with this. We'll talk about that amazing guy that we just spoke to in a moment.
But the fact that the police aren't going to be taking questions isn't going to go down well here, is it?
PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's probably not, no. But I guess they are in the middle of an investigation of an event that as just happened only a few hours ago.
They are still trying to get to the bottom of this. And we know from their behavior, consistently with these sorts of events, for operational reasons, they will not give away information until they have to, until they have secured, in their knowledge, that they've got to the bottom of what's --
(CROSSTALK)
FOSTER: As we saw, after the Tower block fire as well, this is new pressure on them to deliver information more quickly. You can understand that, can't you. You can actually see it from both sides because they can't get it wrong, either.
BLACK: It's very true. But in a situation like this, you can imagine --
[02:10:00]
BLACK: -- it is fast-moving, it has just happened. They need to follow their processes because ultimately their concern is about getting a possible prosecution and conviction down the track.
They can't give away information because that (INAUDIBLE) possible trial further down and so forth.
But they are telling us -- I mean, and they have given us updates to some extent. I know people here aren't necessarily completely satisfied, the local community is what I'm referring to because they haven't used the terrorism word specifically.
But they have said counterterrorism commander, they're the ones responsible for --
(CROSSTALK)
BLACK: -- they're looking at it.
FOSTER: What did you make of the interview with the guy that pulled the suspect out of the van, held him on the ground?
He actually saved his life, didn't he?
BLACK: It's a -- I think you're -- I think it's very true and it's possibly saved other lives, too. So it was an extraordinary interview. So one of the bystanders, who helped grab this man, hold him until the police came -- and not more that, kept the angry crowd away from him --
FOSTER: -- who were coming after him with bottles --
BLACK: -- indeed, yes. It was just pretty remarkable.
FOSTER: Yes.
BLACK: Said he was holding him on the ground for about 10 minutes with the help of some other people.
I spoke to him and I said, "Was he saying anything during this time?"
And he says, this man, that the man on the ground, the man responsible, behind the wheel, was saying, "You deserve this. You guys deserve this."
Now the behavior that he all describes there, the driving through the crowd, the resistance, the fighting back, the swearing, the spitting --
(CROSSTALK)
BLACK: -- increasingly, from that description, this looks absolutely deliberate, yes. I mean, it's very difficult to draw another conclusion.
FOSTER: And it was targeted; it was intentional. There were (INAUDIBLE), this group. It was a group leaving a mosque at midnight and that only one community can possibly be involved.
BLACK: It seems very likely, yes. But of course, as we've been saying, we haven't heard that fro the police. But those sorts of accounts, that's what we're hearing.
And I guess that's why the community here is as worked up as they are because, clearly, if you were there on the scene, it was pretty clear that he was going for them and that's how they feel right now.
FOSTER: He actually describes -- we'll have to look into this -- but how a police van went past when the car, the van had crashed, just went past. But you know, you and I know London police; they wouldn't have done that if they thought there's something --
(CROSSTALK)
BLACK: If they saw something --
FOSTER: -- but it's an interesting context because then he was on this guy, trying to keep him down, waiting for the police and he wasn't quite sure whether the police would even come.
And today he doesn't feel necessarily protected by the police.
So this narrative, it feels like a community under -- not being looked after by the authorities.
BLACK: Well, you heard him mention that where are the armed police?
Why aren't they here?
Why didn't they get here sooner?
Where are they now?
And it's an interesting point. And I guess the key thing to remember is where we are. The other attacks that we've seen have been Central London, very high-profile locations, where there was London Bridge or the Houses of Parliament.
These are places that have armed police stationed in that vicinity pretty much permanently, pre-positioned so that they can respond very, very quickly.
We're in North London. This is a more suburban area, you could say. I mean, we're not on the outskirts of London by any means but we're not in the center of town. So it's question of, with armed police, there's always a response time. And they're always pre-positioned in locations where the authorities, the police, the intelligence services believe that attacks are more likely to happen.
FOSTER: OK, Phil, thank you very much indeed.
There are reasons for everything in these investigations but so much of it is about perception right now and the response is about perception as well and whether the community that feel as though they're not being represented properly by the authorities, whether or not what happens in response to this reflects that as well.
It's become quite political, Rosemary, here in the U.K., the response to these attacks. And all these incidents, these big incidents, they just keep coming and everyone's just struggling, I think, with how to respond and how to deal with it and how to digest it.
CHURCH: Yes, we are certainly seeing that. And as you say, it has just been relentless for the people of London and for those across Britain. Max, we will come back to you in just a moment. Do stay with us there.
I want to bring in CNN law enforcement contributor Steve Moore now. He joins us from Los Angeles.
Thank you, sir, for staying with us in this late hour. And, of course, you know we are learning a little bit as the hours progress. We learned there that the police will actually speak with the media in about an hour from now but we understand that they do not intend to answer questions.
Talk to us about what that tells you.
STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, when I was in those situations, I did not want to talk to the press, either, or at least take questions from the press because what you have and -- is an investigative plan at this point.
And the investigative plan requires that you be able to act without anybody who is involved in the plan knowing that your coming. So likely this is going to be information that is carefully parsed and is not going to negatively affect the investigation.
CHURCH: It is difficult, though, because it is against the backdrop of this sense that there has been a slow response, whether there has or whether there hasn't, that is certainly the perception that people are feeling, that --
[02:15:00]
CHURCH: -- the response was very slow here and a lot of the eyewitness reports that suggest that -- again, this is perception, but we understand from some eyewitness reports that they saw two people fleeing the scene.
Now the police are not confirming that at all.
What does tell you as well, as someone -- this is your area of expertise, of course, and some people are suggesting this is a great concern, if there are two people on the run -- but there may not be.
MOORE: Well, first of all, as we have spoken before, there are -- there is a tendency for people who are under attack to see more than -- more than the number of actual attackers.
This is not unknown to the Metropolitan Police Department. They are going to look for corroborating information because you do not want, when you are looking for certain people, you do not want to have a great amount of your force looking for people that might or might not exist. And I realize they are concerned about the timing of the response, but as Max said earlier, you are going to stage your assets near the places where it is most likely going to be attacked -- and attacked and we seen it close to the Thames.
We've seen it in areas where there is tourist involvement and the fact that they were not there as quickly in an area that was not as likely a target of terrorism should not be taken as an indication that the Metropolitan Police Department cares about some people but does not care about the others.
There is no way that they would -- that they were act in this way.
CHURCH: And now police in London are treating this as a potential terrorist attack. We know that through the prime minister's office. Theresa May has indicated that; London's mayor, Sadiq Khan, has said that this van incident was an horrific terrorist attack. That is the most specific information we're receiving from authorities.
And we do know that Theresa May, the Prime Minister of Britain, will have her emergency COBR meeting this morning and it could very well be underway right now. It is very late; it's after 7 o'clock in the morning.
But what do you think she will be discussing in terms of response here?
Because this has opened up a whole new area now, if we're talking about some sort of payback attack.
MOORE: What usually happens in these kinds of meetings is that the government -- the government officials ask the investigators for everything they know about this person.
It seems they always want to know about why this person did it, who they are, where they came from. They're going to ask for that biography I talked about earlier and generally they are not going to direct your investigation in any specific area. They are just going to ensure that you are effectively addressing it.
And in this case, the indications point to a possible retaliatory terrorist act. And you are looking at a completely different group of suspects at this point. And you are going to have to bring those investigators in and, hopefully, this person is somewhere on their radar.
So the investigation is speeded up.
CHURCH: And Steve, talk to us about how you build that profile. How you steer the investigation toward this person who, is now in custody, so that certainly helps in terms of questioning this 48-year-old man, and learning more about him.
But then the wider issue of who else may be involved, if there is a group behind this.
MOORE: Right now I would tell you that there are investigators and detectives fanned out all across London or the London area, wherever these -- this person or these people came from.
People are being interviewed as we speak. They're going to be roused out of bed, saying tell us about this person, tell us about your son. Tell us about your father, tell us about your husband.
They are going to find everybody associated with this person and they are going to be interviewed very quickly. And each interview is going to bring more names into this.
And you are going to have a greater and greater number of interviews going on, through -- probably through the morning and you are going to get a very good grasp of who this person is, what motivated them and who they hang with.
CHURCH: CNN law enforcement contributor Steve Moore, thank you so much for joining us at this late hour there in L.A. We do appreciate your expertise on this matter. Many thanks.
And we will be back in just a moment with our breaking news coverage. Do stay with us.
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[02:20:00]
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FOSTER: Welcome back to Finsbury Park in North London, where people are trying to make sense of what happened here last night. We're just by the police line, a large area, actually, has been cordoned off.
One person has died after a van hit pedestrians. At least eight other people have been taken to hospital. The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is calling it an horrific terrorist attack.
Prime Minister Theresa May says police are treating the incident as a potential terror attack. She's chairing her emergency COBR meeting in the coming hours, we're told.
Video provided by witnesses on the scene show a man being detained. The London police haven't yet released an image of the person they arrested. We're expecting an update, though, in about an hour.
Counterterrorism command is investing that incident and will be holding the briefing. Police say they're not seeking other suspects but the investigation does continue.
Ibn Omar was in the mosque praying last night.
You came out, didn't you?
What did you see?
IBN OMAR, EYEWITNESS: So I came out, I was in the vicinity, I broke my fast in the mosque. I went to the shop. I kept -- I came back and after I perceived pandemonium, I see a white van. I see people screaming, shouting, extremely --
[02:25:00]
OMAR: -- devastated, you understand. It was just anarchy, you know. And I see the man use -- he was doing stuff like this and he was just make like -- being very --
FOSTER: This is the suspect you're talking about?
OMAR: Yes, the suspect.
FOSTER: Just describe that area -- I mean, it's this busy every night --
(CROSSTALK)
FOSTER: -- Ramadan.
OMAR: Yes, that's right. FOSTER: So really think with people, just -- and everyone was identifiably Muslim, would you say?
OMAR: That's right. That's right. That's why I say this was a direct attack on Muslims.
And why?
Because this time of year, there's two mosques. People are going to be at the last 10 days of Ramadan, people are going to be praying night prayers and the Isha (ph) in the mosque. So for him -- for this assailant, you understand, this terrorist, for him to come do an attack where there's a very -- highly probability Muslim area, I can't say anything except for this was a deliberate attack on a Muslim community.
FOSTER: -- it feels under attack today, the community, your community, right?
OMAR: To be honest, it doesn't feel under attack today. It's felt under attack for a very long time. It -- to being specific, since 9/11, you understand. That's when the Muslim community has been feeling under attack, you understand. Islamophobia, every single day, is on the rise from far right extremists. And today we've seen a perfect example of that happening here, you understand.
The community is absolutely terrified, devastated, you understand, deeply saddened. People just recently passed away in Grenfell Tower and the people from this community were going over there and helping them and for this to happen on their doorstep, you understand, people don't feel safe.
FOSTER: That's interesting, because I was outside Grenfell Tower and there's a similar sort of anger bubbling up, that they felt they weren't represented by the authorities and looked after --
OMAR: One hundred and 10 percent, why?
Because even if you look at the national media outlets, when this incident happened, immediately they didn't mark it down as a terrorist incident --
FOSTER: It's different -- it's not our job to do that. The police have to do that.
(CROSSTALK)
OMAR: Of course. OK, fair enough. But for the -- even for the police services as well, you understand, the police services to not mark it down as a terrorist incident was -- is the suspected terrorist incident, that's a -- (INAUDIBLE) -- that's (INAUDIBLE) on the Muslim --
(CROSSTALK)
FOSTER: But they do that now. They say, you know, they've got enough information to be able to do that this morning.
Is it going to be too late for you, in a way?
Do you feel that the damage has already been done?
OMAR: Listen, I'm telling you that. Just as I see this, as like a reprisal, like a retaliation attack toward the Muslim community --
FOSTER: What if it's not that, though?
OMAR: -- for what has happened in the -- in the previous past, you understand.
Unfortunately, there's a possibility now that those people that were on the fringe, they didn't want to do anything. They didn't see any -- the -- justification, maybe they're going to see a justification after this, you understand?
FOSTER: Yes, I mean, thoughts with you on a horrible day in your community and -- absolutely see how you'd feel targeted and the response --
OMAR: But the community here is deeply saddened but I'm telling you, there's a lot of people that are also angry.
FOSTER: OK.
OMAR: There's a lot of people who are furious. They're upset. They're deeply upset about what happened. And we want to know what the government's going to do in regards to ensuring our safety.
FOSTER: Yes. So the Muslim Council for Britain has called for more security at mosques across the U.K. and the police saying they are going to support some resources right now as well.
We're waiting to hear from Theresa May, a statement from her in Downing Street. I'm sure will be coming this morning after her COBR meeting. Also very soon in the next hour, an update from the police on the latest on the investigation.
We'll bring it all to you here on CNN.
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[02:32:04] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome back to CNN. We're in Finsbury Park where an attack of some sort happened over night. And we're waiting for the police to confirm what they think the motivation behind it was.
What we do know is a van drove into a crowd. One person was declared dead on the scene, eight others taken to hospitals with injuries.
A lot of anger popping up in this community where they feel were targeted. That community being the Muslim community who were leaving a famous mosque here at that time of night. Not many people up at that time of night. Many described how they were targeted as Muslims. So they feel targeted today. Waiting to hear what the police have to say about that.
But some stories of heroism coming to the fore already. I spoke to one eye witness who went over to the van, he says, and pulled the suspect out and held him to the ground until the police came.
Here's his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: I was the first people who came out from mosque because I was praying outside. I wasn't in the mosque. So I was the first people to come out. We crossed the road and waiting to get on the bus. We were watching the bus coming from that direction. We see the van speeding.
FOSTER: Through crowds?
UNIDENTIFID WITNESS: Sorry?
FOSTER: Through crowds in the road?
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: No, it was speeding. I was looking at the bus. The bus was speeding, so I thought maybe he's one (INAUDIBLE) --
FOSTER: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: But he turned right to the mosque. I was shocked. We heard screaming. A woman -- (INAUDIBLE) -- Nigerian guy. And he drove the bus and he hit four, five, six, seven. And suddenly the car stopped. So we ran after him. We managed to get him out of the car.
FOSTER: You ran up to the van, you pulled the guy out.
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: Yes. Yes. But he punched me one on the head. I have marks here.
FOSTER: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: And I called my friends. My friends came running. Get him out of the car, because one of them (INAUDIBLE) --
FOSTER: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: -- the other side. We get him out of the car and he's still fighting with us. He was a big muscular guy.
FOSTER: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: And the police saw the situation. They did not stop. They were just
FOSTER: The police went past? UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: Yeah.
FOSTER: And they didn't know what was going on?
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: Yeah. They think it's a fight or something. And we stopped the guy and we put him on the floor and people called the police. He bite me on my thumb as well.
(CROSSTALK)
FOSTER: Yeah, you have some bruising and injuries. You got your T- shirt cut. This was during the scuffle with him.
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: Yeah.
FOSTER: There were three of you, right?
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: Yeah.
FOSTER: You brought him to the ground and you held him there for how long?
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: Yeah. For 10 minutes.
FOSTER: Until the police came?
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: Yeah.
FOSTER: Describe that 10 minutes.
[02:35:06] UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: He was really shouting and aggressive. Bad words and something like that. So we didn't talk to him about -- he was just spitting on us.
FOSTER: There were crowds gathering around you, mostly people were angry.
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: Yeah. Were angry, yeah. But we just made them not touch him and that.
FOSTER: What you're describing is the people wanted to attack him, right?
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: Yeah.
FOSTER: And you managed to keep people away from him?
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: Yeah, yeah.
FOSTER: We you worried the police wouldn't come? I mean --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: We worried the police didn't come and the guy, the situation is getting worse. FOSTER: yeah. I can't imagine what that was like to go through. But looking back on that, what do you think about how you reacted and what the atmosphere was like there?
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: It was just full of anger. The last 10 days of Ramadan and we're here for worshipping, not for anything else. And we have work to do as well at the same time.
FOSTER: This morning there is some anger because they're not necessarily pleased by the way it's being covered and the way politicians are talking about this incident. What are your thoughts about that?
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: Yeah. We haven't seen - we haven't seen police with a gun. Come with a gun, because it is a terror act.
FOSTER: You're saying there is a different response to this than what happens in other attacks?
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: Yeah. Yeah. (INAUDIBLE) -- respond, the police.
FOSTER: But you're a hero today. Do you feel like a hero?
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: Yeah.
FOSTER: Do you feel --
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: No, I don't feel like a hero. I feel I took the best to keep him from the people and to
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: Yeah.
FOSTER: This guy was still alive and he's driven, you think, intentionally into a crowd.
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: Yeah. He was trying to --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: Yeah. He was trying to -- I was the first one to run and --
FOSTER: Was he trying to reverse the vehicle --
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: Yeah.
FOSTER: -- so he could carry on with --
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: Yes.
FOSTER: -- because we're told he had a knife with him.
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: Yeah. He did have a knife with him -- (CROSSTALK)
FOSTER: So this could have been so much worse?
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: Yeah.
FOSTER: He could carry on this attack?
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: Yeah. I've got injuries but thank god that I'm alive and didn't get more than that.
FOSTER: Well, I think you're an incredibly brave person for doing what you did. Do you think it was instinctive or did you think about what you did, you just --
(CROSSTALK)
FOSTER: What went through your mind?
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: I was in a shock of state, state of shock.
FOSTER: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: So I did -- (INAUDIBLE).
FOSTER: An also, the other thing you achieved is you managed to keep him alive and the police now have him and they can get to the bottom of why he did this. That's very important.
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: Yeah. True. The people came from the mosque, the were bringing bottles.
FOSTER: They were going to attack him?
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: Yeah. And --
FOSTER: How much longer do you think you would have been able to keep him safe?
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: Not more than 10 minutes.
FOSTER: Really?
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: Yeah.
FOSTER: OK, well, our thoughts are with you, the whole community. What you did with you and your heroism last night
UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: I'm just heading to the hospital now.
FOSTER: Well, thank you
(CROSSTAKL)
FOSTER: -- very much, indeed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Just one of the stories coming up this morning. Incredible to hear them and what people are going through. But there is an anger. They're upset as well.
And with me is Turfik Karsini (ph). He runs a community center, which is linked to the mosque.
You are now having to deal with people and their anger. Just describe the atmosphere among the Muslim community here in Finsbury Park.
TURFIK KARSINI (ph), MANAGER, COMMUNITY CENTER: The community center is part of the building, the mosque. We are a community center and a mosque at the same time.
Our prayers and thoughts are with the victims of this horrible incident today. The Muslim community are extremely angry and upset about what has happened. The guy, after doing what he did, he was shouting, "I did my bit," and, "You deserve it," and stuff like this. And thanks for our imam, Mohammad Mahout (ph) who went to and got the guy because the people there were trying to hit and kick the guy, but he saved him and kept him safe until the police arrived.
Your question is, is the Muslim community angry. Yes, they do feel angry. But this is not the solution of the problem. You can see Islamophobia on the right. A lot of hate crime, unfortunately, a lot of the time unreported. Some Muslims do compensate. So we have to reassure our community and calm them down. Hatred and spreading hatred is not the solution. We have to spread love. We have to spread peace.
We've been working with this community for the last 40 years. We've been here since '77. You have never heard of us, only about doing good job, good work for the community.
FOSTER: When you talk about Islamophobia, when you start feeling that and has it been building in the last year, two years?
KARSINI (ph): No, it's been there. It's been going on for quite some time. But after the recent horrible incident, it is on the rise. Unfortunately, the media is not playing good about saying the right thing and not saying the kind of what is happening. So we call on the media --
[02:40:11] FOSTER: The media, the terrorism line?
KARSINI (ph): I'm talking about the media not being responsible about what you report. Unfortunately, some part of the media are giving too much (INAUDIBLE), to much audience, too much of these terrorists who are trying to divide us, but trying to spread hate and spread fear. This is not the message. The message to the Muslims, and this is everywhere, should be spread love and peace instead of spreading hatred and spreading fear among our community. We call on the Muslim community, on all the communities to calm down. The police have been very supportive. We had Jeremy Corbyn all day, all night. We had the councilors. Also, our office at the Muslim house trying to sort out things and to see what is the motivation behind this horrible attack. Of course, we condemn the attack. We call it, frankly, extremist and a horrible attack. But we need calm down. We need to try to think what is the solution, how can we sort out the problems. (INAUDIBLE). That's not condemning. Being angry, being fearful is not going to solve our problems. We have to start meeting with people, meeting them about harmony, about love, about peace, instead of spreading hatred.
FOSTER: The Muslim Council of Britain is calling for extra security at mosques around the country. I know they called for that before. They're going to get extra resources there. Is that a solution? You're talking more of a cultural shift, aren't you?
KARSINI (ph): Well, I don't think it's going to be an ongoing permanent solution to the problem we're facing. It is more on the central government to start educating people about the problem the community is facing. Islamophobia, hatred, it's an illness, it's conflict. It has to be combatted all together as communities. Whether it's coming from Muslim community or coming from the right wing, the extremism. Extremism and hatred are something horrible. We have to tackle it. And from the indication -- (INAUDIBLE) -- we can solve this problem.
Calling for more police, more security --
(CROSSTALK)
KARSINI (ph): -- it's not going to be the permanent solution.
FOSTER: Thank you very much, indeed.
KARSINI (ph): You're welcome.
FOSTER: I know you have a very busy day today.
KARSINI (ph): Yes.
FOSTER: You have a community in crisis. So I'll let you get back to them.
Thank you for your time.
KARSINI (ph): Thank you very much. Appreciate it.
FOSTER: Lots of questions being asked today about -- the police response, the immediate response was very quick. They were there after 10 minutes. But the wider relationship between law enforcement and the Muslim community in London, and around the U.K., there is a sense they haven't been represented. It's quite strange to relate it to something which was very different, but the tower block fire, you have a similar sort of atmosphere where people felt they hadn't been invested in by the authorities and, therefore, have been forgotten and, therefore, have got them in a situation where they got vulnerable.
Will Geddes is here with me. Thanks for joining us, Will.
WILL GEDDES, MANAGING DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL CORPORATE PROTECTON: Thanks.
FOSTER: There's a lot of different people in the community, lots of people involved directly in what happened today. They're furious with the police for not calling this terrorism. They're angry at the media for not calling it terrorism.
GEDDES: Yeah.
FOSTER: Explain why we can't just yet.
GEDDES: I think we should and I think we can. Because I believe the line coming from the police right now is they are treating this as a terrorist event.
I think it's very important also, expand people's understand of what terrorism actually means. We here in the U.K. have the Domestic Extremism Unit within the Metropolitan Police. Now they are there specifically to work at groups such as far right groups, animal rights groups, other groups that potentially could cause harm, injury, creative devices in the past. Again, terrorism these days is not just about Islamic State and Islamic extremists.
FOSTER: But we need to know the motive of the attacker to call it terrorism, don't we? Otherwise, it's an attack but it's not necessarily a terrorist attack.
GEDDES: No, absolutely. I think this is speculation purely on part. It would appear to me to be a retaliatory attack of some type, certainly against some of the recent -- certainly attacks claimed by Islamic State and Islamic extremism, that this is a retaliatory attack of some shape or form. Quite possibly, someone who is either operating alone or part of a larger group within far-right extremism.
FOSTER: It's a such a challenge for police because they are under pressure to confirm that by the community. They have to come up with this confirmation more quickly than they would have done in the past because of this atmosphere right now. But it's hard for them to do that without facts, presumable. But you've seen Theresa May say a presumed terror attack. The politicians are getting around the wording somehow.
(CROSSTALK)
GEDDES: Yeah.
FOSTER: It's a tough challenge.
GEDDES: It is. There's something which really needs to get across, is that the police responded, apparently -- and this is speaking with some of the locals -- incredibly quick here. They responded and reacted to this instance. In terms of the government -- I don't want to get political here, Max, because I'm very neutrally aligned -- but I think they do need to make a very definitive and clear statement about treating this on the same level as they would any other attack of this nature. Again, looking at the means and delivery of attack, which is using a vehicle, which we're commonly now seeing, or despite which community is targeted, it's terrorism.
[02:45:12] FOSTER: OK, Will, thank you very much, indeed.
A lot of pressure on the police. We're expecting to hear from them in half an hour. We'll bring that to you live. They're not taking questions but they are making a statement. So we'll bring you that.
We'll also bring you Theresa May's response as well. Also, Jeremy Corbyn, who is the leader of the opposition and is a local M.P. So he's a big voice here as well. We'll bring you all of those voices.
The community, they're the ones that were effected here, and they feel target and they want a response.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world.
I want to bring you up to date on this breaking news out of North London. This is what we know right now. One man is dead. At least eight others wounded after a van slammed into pedestrians in Finsbury Park north of central London.
British Prime Minister Theresa May called it a potential terrorist attack, and will chair an emergency meeting very soon.
London's Mayor Sadiq Khan said it was a horrific terrorist attack on innocent people.
The Muslim Council of Britain says worshipers were hit as they left the Finsbury Park mosque.
Witnesses gave CNN this video showing a man being detained by police, and police say they arrested a 48-year-old man.
Earlier, my colleague, Cyril Vanier spoke with our global affairs analyst, David Rohde, and they talked about the importance of determining whether this incident was, indeed, a terrorist attack.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID ROHDE, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST (voice-over): It's very important that if this is terrorism, it be called terrorist. An attack on anyone based on their religious faith is wrong and totally unacceptable. So it is important that be the response if that is what the facts are, if this is, indeed, a terrorist attack targeting Muslims.
[02:50:13] CYRIL VANIER, CNN ANCHOR: And, David, if this is, indeed, what it looks like, as you say, it is very worrying because it suggests that now there is sectarian violence going on in the UK. Again, this is a hypothetical, if it is what it looks?
ROHDE: Yes. Again, it's a hypothetical but this is exactly what ISIS wants. This is what Al Qaeda tried to inspire. They want this sort of view that this is some kind of conflicts, a clash of civilizations, between Islam and the West, for Islam and Christianity. And if this was carried out by, you know, people who are non-Muslims, and they think this is going to intimidate, you know, Islamic radicals or slowdown attacks, it's not. It's going to fuel more attacks. Whoever did this is playing into their hands. And this is why the rule of law, at least basic values, that the use of violence to achieve a political goal is terrorism, you know, whatever, whoever the attacker is, it is wrong and it's unacceptable. And that is why this broad principle has to be applied here, no matter who the victim is.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: CHURCH: David Rohde talking to our Cyril Vanier a little earlier.
And we will be back with more our breaking news coverage in just a moment. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:55:18] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
FOSTER: We're on the police line at Finsbury Park in north London covering breaking news for you. One person has died after a van hit pedestrians here in north London. At least eight other people have been taken to hospital.
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is calling this a horrible terrorist attack.
The Prime Minister Theresa May say police are treating the incident as a potential terrorist attack. She is chairing an emergency meeting this morning. We'll get an update from here.
Video provided by witnesses on the scene show a man being detained. The London police have not yet released an image of the person they've arrested. Counterterrorism Command is investigating the incident though. We're expecting an update from them in the next half hour, so we'll bring that to you next hour. Police say they are not seeking other suspects but the investigation continues.
Here, the question really is, is this terrorism or is it not? It's not a simple straightforward question for the Muslim community here. They feel that's not being called right now and they would have done under normal circumstances during a terrorist attack. So a very sensitive situation here. A lot of anger as well. We just spoke to a community leader who said he is trying to keep things calm.
More next hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
