London shooting: Seven Kings mosque put on lockdown after gun attack

LONDON: The Seven Kings mosque  has been placed on lockdown in London after gun shots fired during the prayers. The police  claimed to have launched hunt for the attacker attempting to enter the  Masjid  in Ilford on Thursday night.

The firing incident occurred when  the evening prayers were being held at the mosque, off High Road.

According to police, ballistic evidence recovered from the scene suggests that the weapon was a blank-firing handgun. There were no reported injuries or damage to the mosque, while  police officers  will remain at the scene overnight, it added.

In a statement shared by a Muslim Council spokesman on Twitter, the mosque's imam Mufti Suhail said the suspect's motives had not been established. He asked that people "avoid speculating and circulating unconfirmed information".

There are heightened security concerns at places of worship around the world after recent attacks.

A mass shooting at a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March, left 50 people dead.

In April, churches in Sri Lanka were targeted on Easter Sunday in a terror attack which killed at least 253 people.