A man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a 70-year-old man was set on fire while walking back from a mosque in Birmingham has been arrested over a similar incident in London last month.
On Monday evening Mohammed Rayaz was sprayed with a substance and set alight on Shenstone Road in Edgbaston and remains in hospital with life-changing injuries, including severe burns to his hands and face.
The attack was almost identical to an incident in the Ealing area of London on 27 February in which the suspect spoke to an 82-year-old man after they both left the West London Islamic Centre before dousing him in a liquid, believed to be petrol, and setting him alight.
West Midlands police said in a statement on Wednesday afternoon that the man “has now been arrested for a similar incident in the Ealing area of London”.
The Birmingham MP Shabana Mahmood, who organised a community walkabout on Wednesday with police to reassure Muslim communities on the eve of Ramadan, said a “sense of shock and horror is going to linger” in the community, as she sought to reassure residents.
“It’s such a violent, horrific way to attack somebody. That sense of shock and horror is going to linger for some time to come,” said Mahmood, the MP for Birmingham Ladywood, who knows the victim and his family.
“I was able to video call him yesterday. He’s such a well-known and well-loved member of our local community, it’s very upsetting to see him bandaged up unable to see or use his hands.
“I actually received a WhatsApp message from his son when I was in parliament shortly after it happened. It started: ‘Shabana, my dad has been set on fire,’ and I didn’t know how to process that. At first I thought it must be his car.”
The suspect was arrested by officers on Tuesday outside the same mosque while they were conducting inquiries into the incident. On Wednesday, police confirmed the man remained in custody after being arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. They said they could not speculate about the motive of the attack.
Shahbon Hussain, the lead coordinator of the local StreetWatch and a friend of the victim’s family, said: “At the moment he is not able to open his eyes. He’s undergoing various skin grafts as a result of the horrific injuries. It’s going to be a slow road to recovery and the family are traumatised by what happened.”
He said the man’s family ran out of the house when they heard him screaming after being set on fire, and a neighbour threw a bucket of water over him. “There is a massive sense of shock in the community, and if we need to have extra security outside the mosques, so be it,” he said.
Mahmood praised the local community for rallying together in the hours after the attack to collect CCTV and doorbell camera footage. “When you see the video footage of the moment the victim literally comes ablaze, I’ll never forget those images and I don’t think anybody that’s seen those videos will ever be able to wipe them from our memories,” she said.
Councillor Sharon Thompson, who represents the ward where the attack took place, said the incident had been devastating, adding: “But the community has been phenomenal.”
She noted a man had been arrested but that there was a particular concern in the community with Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting, starting. “There is still an element of fear and apprehension. Everyone is asking, how did this happen and why?”
Regarding the Ealing attack, Ch Supt Sean Wilson, of the Met’s West Area Command, told the BBC: “We completely understand the shock that resonated throughout the community following this incident.
“Despite a man having been arrested, we continue to be vigilant and urge local people to do the same.
“Highly visible patrols around Singapore Road will continue in the coming days to provide reassurance to local people and I urge anyone who is concerned to approach officers.”
