Three youths stabbed near mosque in Willesden, police initially suspected “dirty bomb”
One of the victims of a triple stabbing in west London ’staggered’ into a mosque seeking help for his injuries, a Muslim leader has stated.
Two 21-year-old men and a 20-year-old man suffered stab wounds following the knife attacks near Willesden Green tube station in Brent.
Biohazard officers in hazmat suits arrived at the scene, causing fears of a chemical attack on the shopping parade shortly after 9pm on Wednesday.
One of the injured men, looking for safety from the ’absolute carnage,’ stumbled through the Central Mosque of Brent gates where a security guard provided him with first aid.
Mosque chairman Dr Raja Riaz told Metro: ‘A man staggered through the outer mosque gate to get help.
‘Our security guard stepped in to aid him and called the police. He did very well under a lot of pressure’
He added: ‘We have security provided by funds from the Home Office they are proving their worth.’
A mother-of-two, who overlooks the scene, told Metro: ‘It was absolute carnage.
‘There was screaming and shouting, I saw a hysterical woman. There were also men’s voices and shouts of pain.
‘Then these people turned up in like hazard suits like you see in films like Outbreak, I thought there was a chemical attack. With everything in the news at the moment it was very frightening.’
The experts from the Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear team were stood down after establishing that no chemicals were involved in the attack.
The triple stabbing took place outside the Willesden Mosque, just 100 yards from the tube station. Scotland Yard have ruled out any religious motivation behind the stabbing.
Images from shortly after the stabbings show a distressed woman wrapped in a foil blanket sitting on the stairs of Willesden Green tube station.
No arrests have been made and the severity of the victim’s injuries are unclear.
Another neighbour said: ‘It all kicked off near my house. There was shouting and I heard a woman saying ‘they’ve been stabbed.
‘There were cops everywhere and people in like safety suits. It was horrific.’
On Thursday morning, debris lay in the sealed-off high street including a training shoe.
The stabbing, which was not linked to the mosque, is under investigation by detectives who are understood to have collected CCTV showing how the violence flared.
The knifings took place near to Central Mosque of Brent mosque (Picture: UKNIP)
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said they ‘await an update’ on the condition of the stabbed men.
The force added: ‘There are no concerns about any impact to the wider community.’
Forensics sweep the scene the morning after the attack (John Dunne/Metro)
Two of the men were taken to a major trauma centre and the other to a local hospital.
A 20-year-old woman reported breathing difficulties at the scene but declined medical help.
Politics Editor
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