‘Major Incident’ Declared as Car Driven Into London Police Station

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Adrian Dennis/AFP
Oliver JJ Lane

A man was arrested Wednesday night in Edmonton, London, after a car crashed into the front of a police station.

A police statement said the incident, which occurred shortly before seven o’clock in the evening, saw a vehicle collide with a police station in north London. An arrest — reportedly of the driver — took place at the scene, which was attended by specialist officers.

The police station was evacuated, and officers — including armed officers — have established a cordon around the scene.

Update 0900 GMT

Police gave further updates on the crash at Edmonton police station overnight, including the fact they are not treating the incident as “terror-related”. The force said they had arrested a “45-year-old white man” who was in the vehicle when it crashed, and who used petrol to attempt to set it on fire.

Officers said he had been arrested on arson and other offences. Police Commander Ade Adelekan said: This appears to have been an isolated incident and does not seem to be terror-related. I am satisfied that there is no wider risk to the community.

“Local officers will continue to carry out enquiries, but at this stage we are not looking for anybody else.”

Update 2130 GMT

London area talk radio station cites the account of eye-witness Ogur Mazlum, who said of the incident: “He rammed into the main entrance, the glass part, and was insisting on trying to get in. When he noticed that he couldn’t get it, he got out a can of petrol and tipped it on the floor starting at the car and into the middle of the road and set it alight.”

Serife Mazlum added: “[The driver] looked like a pretty sane person. It was intentional. It is horrifying. As soon as my husband sent me the video he said we’re closing [the shop] and coming home.”

Update 2030 GMT 

No injuries have been reported from the scene of tonight’s incident, police say.

Edmonton MP Kat Edmonton has deleted her initial tweet that called the event a “major incident”, retweeting that it is instead an “incident”.

This social media video, which clearly shows the front of Edmonton Police Station with its doors battered in by a blue car shows smoke rising from the vehicle, and a man walking around pouring a liquid on the ground.

The original story continues below:

The UK’s Daily Mail tabloid newspaper reports that several videos claiming to be from the scene were shared to social media. While not verified by police, one video shared by television journalist Mark White appears to show officers arresting a man on the pavement outside the station and a car on the pavement.

Another video, again unverified by police and again referenced by UK media reports, appeared to show a man pouring petrol on the road before setting it alight.

Edmonton’s member of Parliament Kate Osamor took to social media to relay that a “major incident” had been declared at the scene, strongly suggesting the event was more than a simple accident. Despite that, London’s Metropolitan Police have not announced what the incident is being investigated as.

The vehicle ploughing into a London police station comes just days after the UK government increased the national counter-terror threat level to the second-highest stage. The severe classification means an attack in the United Kingdom is considered highly likely, but no specific intelligence relating to an imminent attack is known by the government.

The move from substantial followed a series of deadly terror attacks in France and Austria, and subsequent crackdowns against radical Islamism by the French and Austrian governments.

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