Suspect In London Mosque Terrorist Attack Identified

Police have identified the man suspected of driving a van into a crowd of people near a north London mosque  as Darren Osborne, a 47-year-old from Cardiff, Wales.

Authorities arrested Osborne after members of the public detained him at the scene of the attack. Police took him to the hospital as a precaution and are now holding him on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of terrorism.

At least one person is dead and 10 injured after the vehicle rammed into pedestrians outside a Muslim community center following evening prayers.

British Security Minister Ben Wallace told Sky News  that Osborne was “not known to the authorities in the space of extremism or far-right extremism,” and was believed to have acted alone.

Osborne is married and has four children, according to The Guardian . His 26-year-old nephew, Ellis, told the paper the family is “massively shocked; it’s unbelievable, it still hasn’t really sunk in. We are devastated for the families, our hearts go out to the people who have been injured.”

“Its madness,” Ellis added, noting his uncle hadn’t shown any racist traits in the past. “It is obviously sheer madness.”

In an interview with ITV News, Osborne’s mother, Christine , also struggled to understand what would drive her son, whom she described as “complex,” to commit such an act.

“I’m not going to defend him, but he’s my son and it’s a terrible, terrible shock,” Christine said through tears. “It’s not just robbing a bank, it’s an atrocity. And at this moment in time, I can’t cope with it, I can’t. I don’t want to say anything more.”

Less shocked, it seems, are some of Osborne’s Muslim next-door neighbors, who told reporters Monday he called their 12-year-old son “inbred” last weekend. They shrugged off the comment at the time, believing he may have intended to aim the insult at his dogs.

This is a developing story and will be updated.