College Voices
In the wake of three terror attacks, England mourns the many lives lost
Early Monday morning, Londoners woke up to yet another terrorist attack.
In the Finsbury Park section of the city, a van rammed into a crowd of pedestrians outside of a mosque. The driver, now identified as Darren Osborne, exited the vehicle after the assault and attempted to flee the scene, but was apprehended by onlookers.
As the 47-year-old white male was taken into custody by British police, he screamed anti-Muslim profanity, leaving little to no doubt as to what his intentions were.
One man was pronounced dead at the scene, while eight were taken to separate hospitals for injuries. Within minutes of the attack, British police formally declared the incident a terrorist attack.
Theresa May, the British Prime Minister, said in a statement regarding the incident, “Today we come together, as we have done before, to condemn this act and to state once again that hatred and evil of this kind will never succeed.”
Darren Osborne, according to British intelligence, had acted alone. After his arrest, Osborne was taken to a hospital, as a precaution. He is being held on terrorism offenses and awaits trial.
The incident comes less than two weeks after the terror attacks in Manchester and London Bridge.
Manchester
On Sunday, June 4th, an emotional Ariana Grande returned to the city of Manchester, England. The 23-year- old singer headlined a sold-out benefit concert to raise money for the victims of the deadly Manchester Arena terror attack that left 23 dead and 120 injured.
The concert, which raised more than £2 million in donations, reminded a broken community that despite the terrible event that occurred just two weeks earlier, love persists.
The One Love concert featured artists like Justin Bieber, Pharrell Williams, Miley Cyrus, and Katy Perry who alongside Grande, performed their respective hits for an audience of 50 thousand.
At the end of the concert, Grande, wearing a white sweatshirt with “One Love Manchester” written on it, tearfully sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”
She thanked those that attended, saying:
“I want to thank you so much for coming together and being so loving and strong. I love you guys so much and I think that the kind of love and unity that you’re displaying is the medicine the world really needs right now.”
The concert was broadcast live on BBC One and streamed on Youtube and Facebook for American audiences.
London Bridge
On the eve before the One Love Manchester concert, another terror attack occurred, this time in the metropolis of London.
On Saturday night, 18 people were killed and 48 more were injured in an attack now being claimed by ISIS.
The attack, which took place on the landmark London Bridge began when three men ploughed a van into a group of pedestrians.
Shortly after, the three men exited the vehicle and viciously stabbed and slashed confused onlookers with hunting knives.
The attack ended after 8 minutes when police arrived, killing the three assailants who are now known to be Khuram Shazad Butt, 27, Rachid Redoune, 30, and Youssef Zaghba, 22.
British intelligence has concluded that the three men indeed had ties to the Islamic State. Khuram Shazad Butt, who was identified as the ring leader of the group, had even appeared in a 2016 Channel 4 documentary, “The Jihadis Next Door.”
On Tuesday, June 6th, a minute of silence was held for the victims of the London Bridge attacks, as the country struggles to move forward, but not forget, not one but two events of innocent lives lost.
