When several angry witnesses attempted to beat up the 47-year-old attacker who plowed his vehicle into a group of worshipers outside the Finsbury Park Mosque, an imam stepped in to prevent the man from being harmed, shouting, "No one touch him - no one!"
The Finsbury Park Mosque said the van "deliberately mowed down Muslim men and women leaving late evening prayers" at the mosque and the nearby Muslim Welfare House shortly after midnight.
"This was quite clearly an attack on Muslims who looked like they were probably Muslims and they were coming from a prayer meeting", said the Met police commissioner, Cressida Dick.
The man who died had already been receiving first aid from a member of the public, police said.
It is not clear whether there is any link between his death and the attack.
Worshippers leaving the Finsbury Park Mosque were helping an elderly man who had earlier collapsed when the van ploughed into them.
Police were called to the East London Mosque, in Whitechapel Road, this afternoon following a reported telephone threat.
Police said the Counter Terrorism Command was investigating the crash.
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In his message to Mohammed Kozbar, Cardinal Nichols said that "Fr John O'Leary has told me of all the good work you do to foster strong and good relations with all people in Finsbury Park".
The author's commentary had a common theme: To her, there is a notable double standard of how people react to terror attacks carried out by Muslims as opposed to those of another religion. He was taken to hospital as a precaution and will undergo a mental health assessment.
Police said all the casualties were Muslims.
A victim of the terror attack near Finsbury Park mosque was left with a fractured skull and does not remember what happened, a relative has said.
People surrounded the driver and witnesses said the outraged crowd began attacking him. He was arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of terrorism including murder and attempted murder.
Describing the attack, Hussein Ali told news.com.au that Osborne "chose to get as much casualties as possible; he came exactly at the time to get as much people as he wanted".
"While this appears to be an attack on a particular community, like the bad attacks in Manchester, Westminster and London Bridge it is also an assault on all our shared values of tolerance, freedom and respect", he said. "I feel scared", Mohamed said. A vehicle struck pedestrians near a mosque in north London early Monday morning, causing several casualties, police said.
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