Last Sunday, several incendiary devices were thrown at a reception center for migrants. Two officers were slightly injured and 700 migrants had to be temporarily escorted to another site.
The attack with incendiary devices on a migrant reception center in Dover in the south of England last Sunday is a “terrorist act“, announced on Saturday the British anti-terrorist police in charge of the investigation.
“After reviewing the evidence collected so far, and while there is strong evidence that (the suspect’s) mental health is certainly a factor, I am satisfied that the suspect’s actions were primarily motivated by ideological extremism, which that meets the definition of a terrorist act“Said Tim Jacques, senior British counter-terrorism police officer, quoted in a press release.
Last Sunday around 11:20 GMT, several incendiary devices were thrown at a migrant reception center in Dover. The suspect had arrived alone by car before launching the devices. Two officers were slightly injured and 700 migrants had to be temporarily escorted to another site.
Record migrant arrivals
The attack comes as the UK records a record number of migrant arrivals on the country’s southern coasts in small boats, with nearly 40,000 having already made the perilous Channel crossing since the start of the year, far more than for the whole of 2021.
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The suspect, Andrew Leak, a 66-year-old man living in High Wycombe, north-west London, was found dead in his car shortly after the attack. According to the British press, he would have ended his life, which the authorities have not yet officially confirmed.
The elements of the investigation collected so farsuggest there was a far-right motivation behind this attack“Explains the anti-terrorist police in its press release. “There is currently nothing to suggest the man involved worked with anyone else and there is no suggestion of a broader threat at this time.“says the police again.