London Bridge attacker in Arsenal shirt was ex-Tube worker ‘family man’ called Abz, 27 who appeared on Channel 4 documentary
THE Arsenal kit wearing ringleader of the London Bridge terror attack posed with a jihadi flag on Channel 4 documentary The Jihadis Next Door, was thrown out of a mosque and tried to radicalise kids in his local park in the years ahead of the devastating atrocity.
The ex-KFC and London Tube worker, known as Abz, 27, was quizzed by cops over his twisted views before he was gunned down along with his two accomplices down following the depraved assault on Saturday night.
The trio killed seven people after mowing down revellers in central London before going on a rampage wearing fake bomb vests and wielding hunting knives.
The man who went on to wage a horrific attack on people at London Bridge previously and was also thrown out of his mosque for ranting about an election.
A former friend of the Watford-born married father-of-two has revealed he contacted police about the terror thug’s extremist views, and claims he was radicalised after watching twisted YouTube videos.
RED FLAGS ON HIS RISE TO TERROR ATROCITY:
- Abz appeared on C4's The Jihadis Next Door unfurling a jihadi flag
- He was thrown out of his mosque for ranting that voting in an election was “un-Islamic”
- A friend contacted police about him due to concerns - he was quizzed but not arrested and allowed to keep his passport
- He attempted to radicalise children in a nearby park
- He was reported for a demonstration in Regents Park
The unnamed man said he contacted cops in Barking, east London, after the maniac killer discussed ISIS-inspired terror attacks.
He told BBC’s Asian Network that the jihadi had become brainwashed after watching clips of US hate preacher Ahmad Musa Jibril.
He said: “He used to listen to a lot of Musa Jibril. I have heard some of this stuff and it's very radical.
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“I am surprised this stuff is still on YouTube and is easily accessible.
“I phoned the anti-terror hotline. I spoke to the gentleman. I told him about our conversation and why I think he was radicalised.”
After confirming Abz was allowed to keep his passport and was not arrested, he added: “I did my bit, I know a lot of other people did their bit, but the authorities did not do their bit.”
WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR:
- ISIS has claimed responsibility after a van ploughed through pedestrians on London Bridge just after 10pm on Saturday
- Three jihadists wearing fake bomb vests began knifing bystanders and pub-goers
- Staff at one pub barricaded the doors as the attackers tried to storm the building before the three terrorists were shot dead
- At least seven victims were killed and 48 people were injured with 18 still critical
- Four cops including British Transport Police officer among those injured
- The first victim was named as Canadian national Christine Archibald, a charity worker from British Columbia
- Theresa May has confirmed the terror threat level will remain at 'severe' and said all three attackers have been identified
- Cops raid block of flats in Barking, East London, reportedly home to one of the attackers, and arrest 12 as well as sealing off East Ham flat
- Police and piece together the chaos
- The Met opened a casualty bureau for those concerned about family and friends. There are two numbers to call: 0800 096 1233 and 020 7158 0197
- All the main political parties aside from UKIP suspended campaigning but have since resumed it as Mrs May confirmed the election will go ahead
- One Love Manchester Concert goes ahead as youngsters refuse to let terrorists stop them attending
- Sick ISIS thugs celebrated attack and called for more atrocities
- London Bridge Underground and National Rail stations re-opened on Monday
- A minute’s silence nationwide on Tuesday at 11am and a vigil in Potters Fields Park in London at 6pm on Monday
- Gunfire heard in Dagenham as heavily-armed cops detain several people during raids linked to the attack
- Families have shared desperate appeals for information to find loved ones still missing after the atrocity with a nanny and Frenchman among those who vanished
Did you see the London Bridge terror attack, or know anyone involved? Please contact The Sun newsdesk on 020 7782 4100, text 07423720250 or email [email protected]
Another neighbour Erica Gasparri also said she shopped the terrorist to police in Barking when he tried to “brainwash” her children.
The Italian mum-of-three sensationally revealed that two of her kids came home from the local park and said: “Mummy I want to become a Muslim," reports the .
She said: “He was trying to radicalise the children, he would go down to the park and talk to them about Islam.
“He also came to the houses and gave the kids money and sweets during Ramadan.”
A photographer captured a detective carrying notes yesterday which appeared to suggest a man in the investigation had been quizzed by police last year - while the name of the person has not been revealed, it is thought to be one of the three men who carried out Saturday's terror attack.
A YouTube video shows the extremist in Islamic dress and shades berating police outside a London mosque.
He was part of a group reported for demonstrating in Regent’s Park, central London.
A source said: “After that the word went around that he was someone to be avoided at all costs.
“With every passing day he began to look more and more like a terrorist.”
Other residents in Barking who knew the warped thug described him as a family man who held the door open for old ladies and played with local children.
But one neighbour said he constantly changed his facial appearance and “always looked different,” reports the .
Another unnamed resident who knew him described him as a “generous” person who people would leave their children with.
Speaking with the Mail, he said: “He used to play table tennis and he was really generous with everyone's kids. People would leave their kids to play with him.
“You'd never expect anything like this from him.”
The extremist was thrown out of an East London mosque two years ago for ranting that voting in an election was “un-Islamic”.
One local said: “On Saturday he was asking one of our other neighbours where he could rent a van and how much it would cost.”
The wife of the killer, who was of Pakistani origin, had just given birth to their second child, neighbours in Barking revealed.
The couple are believed to have been living with his mum — enjoying a comfortable lifestyle boosted by state handouts.
The beast was thrown out of his local mosque in 2015 after he interrupted a sermon to shout that voting in a general election was “un-Islamic."
A source said: “He had no special friends there. He would arrive, pray and then leave.
“He seemed an uneducated person who had no knowledge of religion.”
A neighbour said: “He was into football. He would play on the park.”
Ikenna Chigbo recognised the killer’s old Arsenal shirt in an image of the shot terrorists.
He said: “He was wearing the same top yesterday. He was saying to me, ‘Oh, where can I get a van from?
"He was just asking me all the details — how much was it, and just like asking where he could get a van, basically.”
Another neighbour, Furqan Nabi, 35, said: “Abz came from a Pakistani family but was brought up in this country from a very young age.
“He seemed like a totally normal, nice guy. I can’t believe what has happened.”
The accountant also told how the extremist asked about hiring a van.
He said: “He was a bit vague about why he wanted it.
“The reason was far more shocking than anyone could have realised.”
The family’s social housing flat was raided by counter-terror cops at 7am — one of a series of swoops in the wake of the atrocity that stunned Britain and the world.
A total of 12 people were arrested in the area and near, all of whom have since been released without charge.
The killer’s sister was held in East Ham.
Her husband said: “I don’t know anything. We haven’t been told what’s going on. We just want to grieve in peace.”
Half a mile from the brother’s flat, police blew in the door of an apartment and seized a mother of one aged 38 as she cradled her 18-month-old daughter.
The tearful mum was bundled into the back of an unmarked Ford Mondeo.
Her toddler was taken away in another car. A neighbour said: “Her ex-boyfriend Rashid used to live with them but moved out a few weeks ago.”
In another part of Barking — which is eight miles from the scene of Saturday night’s horror — armed cops had to talk a man out of jumping from the window of a flat they raided.
A witness said: “Five people were arrested and taken out of the house, including a woman.”
A friend of Abz, who quit his KFC job around two years ago to work on the Tube, said: “Back then he had a reputation for being a bit shady and taking drugs.
“But all that changed when he became radicalised. He began stopping his neighbours in the street and asking them if they had been saying their prayers and when they had been to the mosque.”
Deene Azak, 34, whose home is near where the killer lived, said: “I saw him two days ago and he had shaved his head. That’s how I recognised him when I saw a picture of an attacker dead at the scene at London Bridge.”
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