Armed police seal off London mosque after fatal stabbing nearby

Armed police have sealed off a mosque in London after a man was fatally stabbed in a nearby street.

The Metropolitan Police said the victim was found with stab wounds in Elmton Court, Cunningham Place, Westminster, at about 6.15pm on Thursday.

He was treated at the scene with help from London Ambulance Service paramedics but later died in hospital, the force said.

A Met Police spokeswoman confirmed the incident is linked to a raid at a nearby mosque.

“We do have officers searching the area for the suspects,” she said.

Witnesses have also claimed they saw two men being detained in handcuffs but the Met said no arrests have been made and officers continue to hunt the suspects.

The force tweeted that the attack was not terror-related.

It said: “Officers continue to deal with a stabbing at Cunningham Place/Park Road, Westminster. We can confirm that this incident is not terror related. Searches for suspects are ongoing.”

Video from outside the mosque shared on social media showed armed police at the gates to the London Central Mosque, near Regent’s Park, as a helicopter circled overhead.

Witness Bahir Moulana told the Press Association that as he was walking towards the mosque, the police were pushing people back before they closed the main gate.

With a number of armed officers at the scene, the 39-year-old said it gave him the “jitters”, especially following the recent attack at two mosques in New Zealand.

“I saw all the blue lights and my heart was in my mouth,” Mr Moulana said.

With worshippers eventually let out of the building, he added: “There was one girl who said she saw two guys run in. Someone else told me the police were chasing them.”

Mr Moulana said he saw two people being detained and put in handcuffs by police at the mosque.

“The police just surrounded them. I saw that at around 7pm,” he added.

A police cordon was in place at the mosque following the incident, with officers flanking parts of the building’s perimeter, as a helicopter methodically circled overhead.

A section of the A41 Park Road was also closed off by police.

At the scene in Cunningham Place, a large collection of used and discarded medical equipment, bloodied bandages, bags, and other items could be seen in the middle of the road.

One neighbour, who did not want to be named, told the Press Association: “I looked out of the window at around 6.30pm and I saw him on the floor… he was already getting CPR.”

She added that before the incident she heard someone saying “What happened? What have you done?” before she then went to see what was going on.

The Labour MP for Westminster North, Karen Buck, said on Twitter: “Deeply saddened to hear this awful news. Police have been in contact with me and we await further details.”