Three injured in hit-and-run outside London mosque

Three people have been injured in a hit-and-run incident outside a mosque in north-west London, in what police said may have been a hate crime.

Three men and a woman, all in their mid-20s, allegedly shouted Islamophobic abuse outside the centre in Brent before the car they were in hit three men at speed and left the scene, the Metropolitan police said.

A man in his 50s remains in hospital receiving treatment for a serious leg injury, and two men in their 20s sustained minor injuries, the police said.

Terrorism has been ruled out but the force said the alleged hate crime aspect of the collision was “being looked at by detectives as an aggravating factor”.

A spokesman for the Hussaini Association, which had organised a lecture at the mosque, said that the collision was “a suspected premeditated Islamophobic attack”.

In a statement posted on social media, the association said a red Nissan Juke “swerved into innocent bystanders, hitting at least five people of which three were seriously injured”.

It said: “They were heard shouting anti-Islamic taunts at the crowd before they started their attack. Fortunately, a number of volunteers bravely stood between the speeding vehicle and patrons heading home. These acts of bravery potentially saved the lives of dozens of innocent people.”

The occupants of the car had been seen drinking and allegedly using drugs in a private car park near the community centre and had been asked to leave by security, police said. The car approached the centre where a confrontation broke out and some of those outside the centre caused minor damage to the car. The car then made off at speed.

DS Kelly Schonhage, of the Met, said: “We are treating this incident very seriously and a number of enquiries are under way to trace the car and those involved. Enquiries into the full circumstances of the collision are ongoing.”