Armed police were scrambled in response
An armed man entered the Seven Kings Masjid in Ilford on Thursday night. Police said ballistic evidence suggests the firearm was a blank-firing handgun.
Worshippers shepherded the gunman out of the building and a handgun was fired outside the premises. No one was injured and there was no damage to the mosque.
Evening prayers were taking place at the time. Scotland Yard said it did not believe the incident was terror-related.
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.”
The mosque’s imam Mufti Suhail said:”The suspect ran from the scene when stopped by brothers standing guard at the mosque.
“A shot was fired which fortunately did not hit anyone.”
A statement has been issued by Mufti Suhail from Seven Kings Mosque pic.twitter.com/OkFsPxx5mB
— Miqdaad Versi (@miqdaad) May 10, 2019
No arrests have been made and the mosque’s imam has warned against speculating about motive.
Security has been increased at places of worship, following a spate of international terror attacks. 50 people were killed in a mass shooting at a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand in March.
Churches in Sri Lanka were targeted in April, killing more than 250 people.
