Nine Arrested in Connection to Woolwich Murder

26 May 2013

 

A 22 year old man was arrested in north London on Sunday in connection to the brutal murder of Drummer Lee Rigby on Wednesday. Witnesses say that five plainclothes police officers arrested the man while he was riding a bike on St Paul’s Road near Highbury Corner Sunday afternoon. A spokesperson for Scotland Yard said, “A 22-year-old man was arrested by officers from the MPS counter-terrorism command investigating the murder of Lee Rigby. The man was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder by detectives supported by specialist firearms officers.”

 

Sunday’s arrest brings the total number of individuals arrested in connection to the attack, characterized by the Home Secretary as a lone wolf event, to nine. The two suspects, Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, were shot and detained by police shortly after the attack on Drummer Rigby and are still in hospital. Three other men, aged 21, 24, and 28, were arrested yesterday in south-east London and Greenwich on suspicion of conspiracy to murder. Another man, aged 29, was arrested and released on bail Saturday evening, and two women were arrested in connection to the attack on Thursday but were released without charges.

 

The murder of Drummer Rigby has escalated racial and religious tensions in the UK, and police across the country have made a number of arrests for alleged racial and bigoted posts on social media sites. Faith Matters, an interfaith organization, said that approximately 150 racial or religiously motivated incidents have been reported since the attack on Wednesday, up from a daily average of eight incidents prior to the attack. Some of the incidents include violent attacks and vandalizing of mosques and have led to a number of arrests.

 

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