On Friday a horrific incident took place in the London Bridge area when an unidentified man wearing a fake suicide vest stabbed a few people and caused two fatalities. He was shot dead by the British police. Today, the attacker was identified as a 28-year-old British national Usman Khan, who hailed from Staffordshire and is of Pakistani origin.
“We are now in a position to confirm the identity of the suspect as 28-year-old Usman Khan, who had been residing in the Staffordshire area. As a result, officers are, tonight, carrying out searches at an address in Staffordshire” said the Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu.
Via Twitter
Casualties of the London Bridge attack
Sources say that a total of two people were stabbed to death and three were left severely injured that day. Further, the attacker went on a rampage at a criminal justice seminar he was attending. Moreover, London already has a history of such terror attacks and this sudden unfortunate incident has caused a state of panic within the residents of London; as they fear the return of such street crimes.
Via The Independent
Furthermore, the Commissioner said, “The circumstances, as we currently understand them, are that the attacker attended an event earlier on Friday afternoon at Fishmonger’s Hall called ‘Learning Together’”
In addition to this, he also confirmed that the attack must have initiated within the hall and later Usman proceeded to the London Bridge; where he was detained and shot dead.
Who is Usman Khan?
Via Times Now
According to Neil, “This individual was known to authorities, having been convicted in 2012 for terrorism offences”. He added, “He was released from prison in December 2018 on licence and clearly, a key line of enquiry now is to establish how he came to carry out this attack.”
According to sources, his past is riddled with extremist elements. At a young age, he left school and had no qualifications. He spent his late teens in Pakistan with his ill mother. After he returned to the UK, he started preaching extremism on the internet. Moreover, he managed to garner a decent following over the web.
Via Dawn
Previously, Khan was among the nine men that were charged to conspire bomb-blasts via mail, targetting high-profiles in 2010. In addition, when a probe was conducted, hand-written target lists were retrieved from the homes of these men. The names were of important personalities and places; including that of Boris Johnson, the American Embassy and the Stock Exchange.
Mayor London, Sadiq Khan’s statement.
My statement on the incident at London Bridge. pic.twitter.com/UDL77f4uMK
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) November 29, 2019
British Prime Minister Johnson regarding the incident said, “It is a mistake to allow serious and violent criminals to come out of prison early and it is very important that we get out of that habit and that we enforce the appropriate sentences for dangerous criminals, especially for terrorists”
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