London: Scotland Yard has launched an investigation after a gunshot was fired outside a mosque in east London during Ramadan prayers on Thursday evening.
The Metropolitan Police said the firearm discharge at Seven Kings Masjid in Ilford is believed to be related to a previous altercation and is not being treated as an “Islamophobic hate crime or terror-related incident”.
The Met Police’s firearms officers attended the scene and confirmed 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 from Trident Specialist Crime investigate.
There have been no arrests and enquiries continue,” a Met Police statement said. It said that the incident may have stemmed from an earlier altercation in the street.
“Initial enquiries indicated that the incident may have stemmed from an earlier altercation in the street close to the mosque. Officers continue to work closely with representatives from the mosque and are providing reassurance to the local community,” the statement noted.
Officers were called to the mosque at 22.45 local time to reports that a man, believed to be in possession of a firearm, had entered a mosque on High Road in Seven Kings, east London. The man was ushered outside of the building by those inside and a gunshot was then heard later.
“I am in close contact with the Met Police Commissioner about this incident at Seven Kings Mosque, and relieved to hear that nobody was injured,” London Mayor Sadiq Khan said in a Twitter statement. “Everyone should be free to practice their faith free from danger and fear,” he said.
The incident comes as the Met Police have issued statements to reassure Britain’s Muslim communities to coincide with Ramadan and encouraged them to attend their local mosques without fear. (PTI)
