Man died after being hit by van in Finsbury Park terror attack, inquest hears

A father-of-six who died in a terror attack near a mosque in north London was alive when he was struck by a van, an inquest has heard. Makram Ali, from Haringey, had left a prayer meeting at Muslim Welfare House in Finsbury Park when he was hit by the vehicle in the early hours of the morning. The 51-year-old is believed to have suffered a “medical episode” shortly before the incident and had been seen to fall to the ground, but he was alive when the van crashed into him and a group of other people, an inquest at St Pancras Coroner’s Court heard. A post-mortem examination found Mr Ali’s death was caused by multiple injuries, Metropolitan Police Service Detective Inspector Edwin Hall told the court. Det Insp Hall said the incident was being treated as a terrorist-related murder and those present were wearing traditional Muslim dress and were easily recognisable as being Muslim. During a brief hearing, senior coroner for Inner North London Mary Hassell opened and adjourned the inquest until any criminal proceedings have finished. Following his death, the family of Mr Ali – who had four daughters and two sons and came to the UK from Bangladesh aged ten – paid tribute to him as a “quiet, gentle man”. Nine other people were injured in the attack on June 19. The area was busy with worshippers attending Ramadan late-night prayers at the time. Darren Osborne has appeared in court accused of murder and attempted murder over the incident. The 47-year-old, from Cardiff, is charged with killing Mr Ali and the attempted murder of others at the scene.