Arrest after firearm discharge outside mosque

A man has been arrested after a firearm was discharged outside a mosque in York.

North Yorkshire Police said it happened outside York Mosque and Islamic Centre on Bull Lane at about 02:15 BST.

The force said the arrested man was a 44-year-old white UK national from the city. This information has been released by the police consistent with their national guidelines.

The suspect left the area in a silver vehicle before he was held, and remains in custody for questioning. The firearm was believed to have been an air rifle and no-one was hurt, police said.

Mohamad Douba, president of the mosque, said police were notified after a member noticed suspicious activity and "heard what appeared to be a shooting".

Douba said: "They immediately contacted the police, who attended the scene promptly.

"We would like to thank our brave member of the community for their quick thinking and for immediately alerting the police.

"We are grateful that no-one was injured, and there have been no reports of any members of our congregation, staff, volunteers or students being harmed."

A police cordon is in place and Douba said as a precaution the mosque was currently closed.

He added: "We are co-operating fully with the authorities and will provide an update to the community once we have confirmation that it is safe to reopen.

"We will inform everyone as soon as the mosque is ready to resume normal activities.

"The safety and wellbeing of our worshippers, students, staff, volunteers and the wider community remain our highest priority."

In a statement, North Yorkshire Police said: "It is too early to say what may have been the motivation behind this disturbing incident, but our Muslim community in York can be reassured that we are doing everything we can to establish the full circumstances."

The force said there would be "high-visibility patrols" in the area around the mosque and officers would meet the imam.

Witnesses or anyone with information, CCTV or dashcam footage that could support the investigation are asked to contact police.

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