A 47-year-old man arrested for allegedly ploughing a van into a group of Muslims in London on Monday (June 19) was born in Singapore, according to British media reports.
Citing public records, the Guardian and Daily Mirror reported that Darren Osborne was born in Singapore in 1969. They gave no further details on his Singapore connection, or when he moved back to Britain.
Osborne is believed to have grown up in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, where he attended Broadoak Mathematics and Computing College.
At the time of the attack, he was living in the Welsh city of Cardiff with his partner and four children aged between five and 16.
Nine people were hospitalised after Monday’s attack. Witnesses said they saw Osborne shouting, “I want to kill all Muslims”, before slamming his van into a crowd near a mosque in the Finsbury Park area of London.
One elderly man, who had collapsed moments before the van appeared, was pronounced dead at the scene, although police have not yet confirmed whether he died as a result of the attack.
Locals held onto Osborne until he was detained by police and later arrested on charges of “the commission, preparation or instigation of terrorism including murder and attempted murder”.
His neighbours in Cardiff described him as “aggressive” and “strange”, The Guardian reported. They said it was unclear if he had a job, with some saying that he was unemployed while others said he bought and sold cars.
Neighbour Pauline Tibbs, 48, told the Mail Online that the incident had been a “terrible shock”.
“The police have been back and forth here all day. It’s a terrible shock,” she said. “I’ve seen him walking in the street but never spoken to him. He seemed normal enough. He has lived here a couple of years and kept himself to himself.”
Osborne’s next-door neighbor, Mr Khadijeh Sherizi, told The Telegraph: “I saw him on the news and I thought ‘Oh my God that is my neighbour.”
“He has been so normal. He was in his kitchen yesterday afternoon singing with his kids.
“He was the dad of the family. He has kids. He lives next door. He seemed polite and pleasant to me. I just can’t believDe it.”
Osborne’s family members revealed a different side of him.
Mrs Osborne, 72, told ITV News that her son was a “complex” person.
Source: www.todayonline.com
