Man arrested after storming Regent's Park Mosque and stabbing elderly Muslim prayer leader

Man arrested after storming Regent's Park Mosque and stabbing elderly Muslim prayer leader
The Metropolitan Police force said officers were called to the London Central Mosque near Regent's Park where a man in his 70s was found with multiple stab injuries.
1 min read
20 February, 2020
Police restrained the suspect after the attack. [Twitter/@MurshHabib]

A man was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of attempted murder after storming the Regent's Park Mosque in central London and stabbing an elderly muezzin - prayer leader - in his 70s, police said.

The Metropolitan Police force said officers were called to the London Central Mosque near Regent's Park where "a man in his 70s" was found with "stab injuries".

"He was treated by paramedics before being taken to hospital," the Metropolitan Police said. "His condition has been assessed as non life-threatening."

On Twitter, mosque-goers posted images of police holding a man down on the mosque floor. Witnesses said the injured man was the mosque's muezzin, the person who calls Muslims to prayers.

Footage posted online showed a young white man in a red hooded top being restrained by police officers.

The incident comes a day after a shooter with suspected far-right beliefs killed nine people at a shisha bar and a cafe in the German city of Hanau.

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