Neighbors: London Attacker Was 'Bloody Psycho'

He was chucked out of a pub for 'cursing Muslims'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 20, 2017 7:01 AM CDT
Neighbors: London Attacker Was 'Bloody Psycho'
A police officer stands near floral tributes in Finsbury Park, London on Monday.   (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

The man accused of driving a van into worshippers near a London mosque early Monday has been named as 47-year-old Darren Osborne—a man described as "aggressive," "strange," "cuckoo," and "a bloody psycho" by neighbors in Cardiff, Wales. Witnesses say Osborne shouted "I want to kill all Muslims" after the attack, which left one person dead and 11 injured, the Guardian reports. Neighbors say he was always troublesome but his behavior had deteriorated in recent weeks and he had been thrown out of a local pub over the weekend for "cursing Muslims and saying he would do some damage." He also allegedly abused a 10-year-old Muslim neighbor, telling him he was "inbred."

Osborne's sister tells the Evening Standard that he was "troubled," but was so unpolitical she doubts he knows who the country's prime minister is. Neighbors say Osborne had split up with the mother of his four children in recent weeks and had been living in a tent he put up in woodland or sometimes in the backyard of the home they used to share. Police believe he rented the van used in the attack on Sunday and drove the 150 miles to London, the Telegraph reports. After the Finsbury Park attack, he was restrained by bystanders, with an imam convincing people to stop hitting him. Police say Osborne is being held on suspicion of terrorist offenses and attempted murder. (More London stories.)

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