He loved strolling in parks with his grandchildren
The man who died in the Finsbury Park terror attack died of injuries from the attack, as opposed to dying of whatever had caused him to collapse on the pavement before the attack. He was Makram Ali.
Makram Ali moved to Britain from Bangladesh when he was 10. He and his wife raised four daughters and two sons. He loved strolling in parks with his two grandchildren. His family was about to take a vacation in Canada.
Mr. Ali, 51, was returning from Ramadan prayers early Monday morning when he collapsed on a street in North London; he was known to have a weak leg.
First aid arrived, and Mr. Ali was receiving medical assistance. He appeared to feel better, and said he wanted to go home. Then, a van suddenly crashed into a crowd of Muslims, including Mr. Ali, outside the Finsbury Park Mosque and the Muslim Welfare House, a community center.
Mr. Ali, who lived nearby in the borough of Haringey, died from multiple injuries, the Metropolitan Police said on Thursday, citing a postmortem examination.
Four people are still in hospital, two in critical condition.
“Our father was a quiet, gentle man,” his daughter Ruzina Akhtar said in a statement on behalf of the family on Thursday, after meeting with the Metropolitan Police commissioner, Cressida Dick. “He didn’t get involved in political or social discussion; he instead took comfort and enjoyment spending time with his wife, children and grandchildren, and he was always ready to make a funny joke when you least expected.”
The guy driving the van is not a quiet, gentle man.
Darren Osborne, 47, who lives in Cardiff, Wales, has been arrested on suspicion of committing, preparing or instigating terrorism including murder and attempted murder.
Neighbors have described Mr. Osborne as belligerent and aggressive, but have said that he did not express anti-Muslim sentiments — until this past weekend, when he was kicked out of a local pub after a drunken tirade.
From drunken tirade to terror attack in one weekend.
She added: “We heard him (Osbourne) scream at his wife, and he said, ‘Don’t make me get the cricket bat.’ ” The history of spousal abuse comes as no surprise.
Ah, that’s what a neighbor meant when an earlier report described the wife as having “terrible taste in men”. Woman’s fault for having bad taste of course…. /s
Was that in the Times piece? Did I overlook it?
Jesus. No, it’s in a Times piece from the 20th. He sounds like the neighbor from hell.
Ophelia, I saw it in a Telegraph piece republished here on Stuff back on the 20th. Here’s the quote…
One said: “She’s a kind and friendly person – her only problem is a bad taste in men. Everyone said she was too good for him.”
From the mix of comments from neighbours and acquaintances he sounds pretty much like your common garden variety arsehole to be honest. A devoted family man who would do anything for you, who was also prone to shouty rants, threats (at least) of physical violence and drunkenness. Add in a touch of xenophobia, racism and whatever the secret ingredient is that makes people think it’s a solution to kill people and we’re away (not) laughing.
Ah, I found it in the abovementioned NY Times piece.
He sounds horrible and terrifying. The Times said few people found him frightening, which seems…incomprehensible.
I certainly would have found him concerning enough to avoid.
Obviously a terrorist.