A man in London, England was arrested on Christmas morning after he jumped a sidewalk and crashed into a crowd of people, sending four to the hospital.
The 31-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, according to the BBC. One pedestrian was in life-threatening condition from the incident.
The man was driving on the wrong side of the road in London’s West End theatre district around 12:45 a.m. when he drove into pedestrians.
Reportedly, police are treating it as an isolated incident and said that it was not related to terrorism.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy said: "Detectives are quickly progressing inquiries as part of this investigation.
“It's believed that the suspect was involved in an altercation at a nightclub prior to getting in his car and mounting the pavement,” he added.
“Officers responded quickly to this report, working closely with City of London Police to arrest a man within minutes,” he continued. “This has been confirmed as an isolated incident which is not terror-related.”
London Christmas horror as driver jumps sidewalk, plows into crowd in West End theater district https://t.co/GibyG8fDKZ pic.twitter.com/ejQ92djqWz
— New York Post (@nypost) December 25, 2024
Blood and items of clothing were “strewn across the pavement,” The Telegraph reported.
This month, a Saudi national named Taleb Al-Abdulmohsen, 50, was accused of killing five and injuring over 200 after he allegedly drove a car into a Christmas Market in Magdeburg, Germany.
As Townhall covered, after the attack, Alice Weidel, leader of the right-leaning Alternative for Germany Party (AfD) blamed the attack on immigration. “Magdeburg would not have been possible without uncontrolled immigration. The state must protect its citizens through a restrictive migration policy and consistent deportations!” she said.
The authorities described Abdulmohsen as an “untypical attacker” who did not align with radical Islamic extremism and instead advocated for more restrictions on immigration from Islamic countries, according to a BBC report.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the suspect was on law enforcement’s radar, showing a series of chilling signs in the years before the incident. As Townhall noted, in an August 2023 post on X, Abdulmohsen asked his followers whether they “would blame me if I kill 20 Germans.”
The Telegraph reported that one of the victims was a small child, adding that “Christmas markets in Europe have been frequent targets for terror attacks, and both France and Germany have stepped up security.”
In 2016, a man drove a car into a group of shoppers at a Christmas market in Berlin. The suspect, who was part of ISIS, murdered 13 people and injured 17.
Earlier this year, Townhall covered how reports broke that Germany would tighten its “border controls” at all land borders. This comes in response to “irregular migration” patterns and to “protect the country from extremist threats.”
“We are strengthening our internal security through concrete action and we are continuing our tough stance against irregular migration,” Interior Minister Nancy Faeser reportedly stated at a news conference.
According to the BBC, the German government came under pressure to take action on immigration after three people were killed in a knife attack in Solingen in August.