London In Crisis After Wave Of Disasters And Terrorist Attacks: Vehicles Are The Terrorist’s Weapon Of Choice

London, one of Europe’s great cities, is in the midst of the sort of crisis not seen since the 7/7 bombings in 2005. Back in March, Islamic terrorist Khalid Masood killed four people and injured 50 others when he drove a car at high speed into pedestrians walking on Westminster bridge near the Houses of Parliament. In that attack, unarmed police officer Keith Palmer was stabbed to death. Masood was shot by police officers.

On June 3, eight people were killed and scores more injured after a van containing three Islamic terrorists smashed into pedestrians on London Bridge. As reported in the Guardian, the terrorists attacked passersby with knives before making their way to the nearby Borough Market area, where they were shot by armed police officers.

Just days after the London Bridge attack, political shockwaves were heard all over the U.K. when Theresa May’s Conservative Party lost their majority in the general election. May’s government had been expected to win a huge majority; instead, her reckless gamble has thrown the U.K. into a constitutional crisis just as the Brexit negotiations begin in Brussels. Theresa May took another huge body blow last week in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire.

At least 80 people are now believed to have been killed in the Grenfell Tower fire, and the Economist claims that the fire has “sparked a political crisis.” As previously reported in the Inquisitr, Theresa May managed to do more damage to her reputation in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire. May was lambasted for visiting the scene, speaking to emergency service workers but avoiding those affected. Friday saw a wave of protests across London by those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire. Many were calling for Theresa May’s resignation.

Finsbury Park Mosque Terrorist Attack Plunges London Into A New Crisis

In the early hours of this morning, London was subjected to another terrorist attack. This time, Muslims leaving Finsbury Park Mosque were attacked, and once again, a vehicle was the terrorist’s “weapon of choice.” As reported by the Financial Times, worshipers were leaving the Finsbury Park Mosque shortly after midnight. They had been attending late-night prayers after breaking their fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The Metropolitan Police said that one man was declared dead at the scene after a 48-year-old man drove a vehicle into a crowd of people who were apparently administering first aid to someone lying on the pavement. It is currently unclear whether the man was killed by the vehicle. Ten other people, all of them Muslim, were injured, and two are believed to have life-threatening injuries.

The Finsbury Park terrorist has not yet been named, but he is in custody and police have stated that he was acting alone. The van he used was hired from a company called Pontyclun in Pontypridd in South Wales. The attacker is believed to have shouted “I want to kill Muslims,” and there are claims that he was laughing at shocked bystanders as he was taken away by London police.

The method used in the attack was similar to the previous London terrorist attacks, so speculation is already rising that this was a reprisal attack on London’s Muslim community.

Those with an eye on London’s recent history will be aware that Finsbury Park Mosque was seen as a hotbed of Islamic radical preaching by Abu Hamza. After Hamza was extradited to the U.S. in 2014, he was found guilty of 11 terrorist offenses and sentenced to life in prison. The Telegraph reports that since Hamza was extradited, Finsbury Park Mosque has been transformed into a beacon for good community relations.

The attack on Finsbury Park Mosque will plunge the U.K. government and London’s security services into a fresh crisis as they contemplate the possibility of further attacks on Muslims by white extremists.

[Featured Image by Tim Ireland/AP Images]