Neighbours: One of the London attackers had normal social life before being radicalised

According to his neighbours, one of the London Bridge attackers was an Arsenal-supporter and “seemed like a nice guy” before he became radicalised. The attacker, a 27-year-old Pakistani Muslim extremist, was a father of at least two children and had worked at KFC as well as for the Transport for London, reports the Daily Mail. Previously, the assailant had appeared on a TV documentary in 2016, featuring British jihadis. He was spotted in a filmed argument with police after an Islamic State flag was unfurled in a park. The jihadi was also banned from a mosque, after he repeatedly interrupted the imam during prayers during the 2015 general election. A source from the mosque told the Daily Mail: “He repeatedly interrupted the imam and that is not something you are allowed to do. “He kept shouting 'Only God is in charge' and would not stop.” Later, a caretaker escorted him out of the mosque and he was banned from its premises, the source added. A relative of the attacker’s wife said: “In 2015, I heard that he tried to go to Syria saying he was going for jihad. But the family rallied around and as his wife was pregnant they managed to stop him. Furthermore, a neighbour, Erica Gasparri, claimed that two years ago she warned the police about the suspect attempting to radicalise children at a local park. Erica said she was alarmed after witnessing a “Pakistani man” saying “I’m ready to do whatever I need to do in the name of Allah. I am ready in the name of Allah to do what needs to be done, including killing my own mother.” Erica said she took four photographs of him and gave them to the police. On the other hand, other neighbours reported that the jihadi had seemed normal and was “a nice guy” who often played table tennis with youngsters and was very generous with children. The terrorist managed to put on such a front to those close to him that local parents would even trust him to be alone with their children on a regular basis. A neighbour even said he saw the jihadi holding the door open for an elderly woman, just two days before the attack. He said: “Once I helped him when his car broke down and he came round the next day with some food for me. One of the neighbours, Iketina Chigbo said he saw the attacker on Saturday afternoon, a few hours before the terror attack. The attacker was wearing an Arsenal shirt and asked Iketina about hiring a van. Iketina said: “It was around 3pm and I was in the process of moving so was loading stuff into a van. “He said he was planning to move too and that’s why he wanted to know – I didn’t think anything of it. “He was on another level of happiness and kept shaking my hand. He seemed almost euphoric. “But then I saw the picture from the scene of the attack of the guy on the floor – he was wearing the same kind of colour top and I just couldn’t believe it. I knew it was him, I recognised him,” Iketina added. Another neighbour, who added that the Jihadi worked for both KFC and Transport for London (TFJ), echoed others in saying that the attacker had seemed a like a normal guy but then became quite radicalised. He said: “He seemed like a normal guy but then I saw him on a TV documentary with an ISIS flag some time ago and after that I tried to keep my distance from him. A female neighbour said: “He didn’t interact with women in the area because of his views. “He would happily talk to men but would ignore females. I only ever saw his wife if he was with her and she wore the full veil – I don’t think I ever saw her eyes,” she added. Another neighbour said: “He was a nice guy, obviously religious but normal. We used to speak about Arsenal and I last chatted to him a few weeks ago after we won the FA Cup. There was nothing untoward about him.” Most neighbours said they never expected that he was secretly plotting such a vicious attack. He was caught on camera striding calmly through empty streets near London Bridge as he hunted for more victims during his and his accomplices’ terrifying rampage, which killed seven people died and injured at least 50 others. A man who lived above the London Bridge terrorist for three years said the jihadi often always changed his facial appearance and looked very different every time. “He lived there with his wife, who has just had a baby girl, and his mum. He also had another child,” he added. While executing the inhuman attack, the three men were heard shouting “This is for Allah.”