Teenager arrested on suspicion of attempted murder in Sikh temple attack

From the Telegraph:

A Sikh worshipper said he “tried to tackle” a sword-wielding teenage raider who attempted to assault people at a gurdwara in Kent on Thursday.

Avtar Singh, 44, said he and other worshippers chased the boy, who was brandishing two swords in the Siri Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara in Gravesend.

A 17-year-old from Gravesend was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and a religiously aggravated public order offence after police were called to the gurdwara at 8.10pm on Thursday.

Kent Police said nobody was seriously injured during the incident, but two women required medical attention for cuts and bruises.

Jagdev Singh Virdee, the Gravesend gurdwara spokesman, said the temple’s security team had called police after seeing the alleged attacker.

He said the incident happened after Sukhasan, a Sikh closing ritual, had taken place.

Commentators on X, including this Sikh, are of the opinion that the assailant is a Muslim.

That is a reasonable assumption; if it is religiously motivated politics can be ruled out. The assailant looks Asian so the bogey man of ‘far-right white racism’ can also be ruled out. Which leaves the question, which religion is hostile to Sikhism? I have never heard of a Jew, a Jain or a Baptist so motivated.

Major incident and arrest in Gravesend this evening as reports a sword wielding man entered a Sikh temple, 2 women injured, air ambulance landing on nearby field. pic.twitter.com/4qi73jba0a

— Tommy Robinson 🇬🇧 (@TRobinsonNewEra) July 11, 2024

We might get a name when he appears in court, unless he is too young.