Gun fired at East London mosque

International Desk: A gun was fired outside a mosque in east London during Ramadan prayers.

Police were called to reports of a man with a firearm entering the Seven Kings Masjid in Ilford on Thursday night.

Worshippers ushered him out of the building and a gunshot - thought to have come from a "blank-firing handgun" - was then heard.

No injuries or damage were caused, Scotland Yard said, and it did not believe the incident was terrorism-related.

Evening prayers were being held at the mosque, off High Road, at the time.
The Met Police said: "Officers, including firearms officers, attended. There were no reported injuries or damage to the building.

"At this early stage, ballistic evidence recovered from the scene suggests that the weapon was a blank-firing handgun."

Officers will remain at the scene overnight, it added.

In a statement shared by a Muslim Council spokesman on Twitter, the mosque's imam Mufti Suhail said the suspect's motives had not been established.

He asked that people "avoid speculating and circulating unconfirmed information".

There are heightened security concerns at places of worship around the world after recent attacks.


risingbd/May 10, 2019/Mukul