London attacks: Pictures emerge of killer Khalid Masood, aka Adrian Ajao, Adrian Elms
A FORMER friend of London terrorist Khalid Masood says the killer once held a knife to his throat and confessed that he ‘just wanted blood’.
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TERRORIST Khalid Masood dreamed of killing someone and was a massacre waiting to happen, a former friend has said.
The Sun reports Lee Lawrence, 47, revealed the maniac, whose Westminster rampage killed four, once held a knife to his throat.
Woodsman Lee said: “He was saying, ‘I want some f*****g blood, I want to kill someone.”
Lee added: “The knife was in his pocket all the time.
“He would never be without his knife.”
The death toll — including Masood — rose to five after Leslie Rhodes, 75, died of his injuries.
Seventeen people remained in hospital, one in a life-threatening condition.
Lee knew Masood by his birth name, Adrian Elms, when he lived in Northiam, East Sussex.
He said Elms held a knife to his throat after slashing the landlord of his local in July 2000.
Publican Piers Mott needed 20 stitches in his gashed cheek.
Lee, who gave Elms his first job as a woodcutter, said: “I tried to calm him down but his eyes were rolling, he was off his head.
“He put the knife up against my throat. I grabbed his arm and pushed him away.
“He started saying, ‘What have I done, what am I doing? I’m getting help. I just want blood, I dream about killing someone’.”
Elms also damaged Mr Mott’s car and was jailed for two years.
Lee, who still lives in Northiam, said: “It was while he was inside that Ade turned to Islam.
“I only saw him once when he came out of prison. He was driving through the village, saw me and put his finger against his throat and made a slashing gesture.
“He loved scaring people. He got off on being the hard man.
“He wasn’t stupid. He was very articulate and intelligent.
“But when he got angry he would just snap and became a different person. It was terrifying.
“His girlfriend helped to calm him down. But in the end even she couldn’t put up with him any more.
“There was something inside his brain he just couldn’t control.”
PICTURES EMERGE OF LONDON KILLER
Meanwhild, childhood pictures have emerged of the Westminster terror killer who was born Adrian Russell Ajao but died as Khalid Masood.
The Sun reports that a school photograph, which captions his name as Adrian Ajao, gives a glimpse into the normal childhood of the terrorist, having grown up in the leafy county of Kent.
A football-mad youngster, he was born to 17-year-old Janet, taking on the last name of his stepfather Phillip.
The recently released image was taken when Masood was at Huntleys Secondary School for Boys in Tunbridge Wells.
During his childhood, he grew up with his family in a £300,000 (AU$492,000) house in the seaside town of Rye, East Sussex before moving to Tunbridge Wells, Kent, where they lived with Masood’s half-brothers, Alex and Paul.
But the young man, who was born on Christmas Day, later changed his name to Khalid Masood — even becoming known as “the vampire” for wearing black as he stalked the streets at night.
For 12 years he worked at a cleaning chemicals company, The Sun reports, and went on to become an English teacher.
But he had a bad rap sheet which included stabbing a man in the face in a 2003 row plus assaults, criminal damage and public order offences.
His criminal activity was enough to catch the eye of authorities, with Prime Minister Theresa May yesterday revealing that he had been investigated by MI5 several years ago — but was dismissed as a “peripheral figure”.
It is now known he took on at least three names before carrying out the atrocity in the heart of London — which killed a police officer and ISIS have since claimed.
British media said he also went by the alias Adrian Elms - a name he used in 2000 when he was sentenced to two years in jail for slashing a man’s face in the Sussex village of Northiam, not far from where he grew up.
London’s Saudi Arabian embassy said that he also worked in the country as an English teacher between 2005 and 2009.
“During his time in Saudi Arabia, Khalid Masood did not appear on the security services’ radar and does not have a criminal record in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” said an embassy statement.
The 52-year-old was gunned down by a security guard moments after mowing down crowds on Westminster Bridge.
Sabeur Toumi, manager of the Preston Park Hotel in Brighton where the attacker stayed before the rampage, told Sky News that police had shown him a photo to confirm Masood’s identity.
The attacker, who had also stayed the previous Friday, had been “very friendly, laughing and joking”, and discussed his family in Birmingham, he said.
“It is very shocking because these days you don’t know who are the bad ones and who are the good ones. He was just like any other guest who checked into the hotel.”
ATTACKER MADE DAUGHTER CONVERT TO ISLAM
British media described Masood as a Muslim convert, citing neighbours who described him as devout.
“He was a nice guy. I used to see him outside doing his garden,” Iwona Romek, a former neighbour, told the Birmingham Mail.
“He had a wife, a young Asian woman and a small child who went to school,” she said.
Other media have reported that he was a married father-of-three and, according to the MailOnline, he made his eldest child convert to Islam, change her name and wear a burka.
It caused a bitter family struggle with his former partner, businesswoman Jane Harvey, who had already separated from him when he was jailed for GBH, the news outlet reports.
The MailOnline reports a close friend of Ms Harvey said: “The elder daughter had already converted to Islam and was living in Birmingham.
“She wore a full face veil and I think had changed her name.
“It was her father who had helped convert her.
“Her father wanted the younger daughter to convert but Jane was against it and there was quite a family struggle.”
“I know Jane was very upset and wanted her to stay at home and continue her studies.”
There is no suggestion that any of the family, including the eldest daughter is a radical Islamist or knew of her dad’s plans.
MUM ‘TOO UPSET’ TO TALK
Masood’s mum, Janet Ajao, 69, who runs a business selling handmade cushions and bags, was being questioned by police at her remote farmhouse in South West Wales.
It has been revealed the mother of the killer spends her time listening to classical music with her husband, tending to her chickens and working on her crafts.
The pair moved to the leafy village after bringing up their family in parts of south England.
Grey-haired Janet appeared briefly at the door while speaking to a uniformed officer yesterday.
A police source said: “She is too upset and adamant she won’t make any comment on anything at the moment.”
Janet and her husband Phillip — Masood’s stepdad — live in the village of Trelech in Welsh-speaking rural Carmarthenshire.
She and her 77-year-old husband Phillip — who is believed to be of Nigerian background — turned heads when they moved in as the first mixed-race marriage in the tiny village of Trelech, Carmarthenshire, population 745.
The mum-of-three was spotted looking outside her window and opening her door while police were concluding their investigation.
She ordered police to turn people away from the farm property surrounded by fields and a public footpath
She gave birth to Masood on Christmas Day 1964, when she was just 17-years-old, the Daily Mail reports.
Two years later she married Phillip and Masood grew up in the seaside town of Rye, East Sussex.
Two decades later the family moved to Tunbridge Wells, Kent, where they lived with Masood’s half-brothers, Alex and Paul.
MUSLIM WOMAN: ‘I WAS DEVASTATED’
The Muslim woman trolled for being pictured looking at her phone while walking past a victim of the Westminster terror attack has slammed those who criticised her.
The Sun reports that she has called out the troll who accused her of “casually walking by” and said she actually helped the victims and challenged people to “look past her attire”.
Twitter users were outraged after a troll targeted the hijab-wearing pedestrian on Westminster Bridge.
She contacted Tell MAMA today after she said she felt like a victim of the abuse, and said: “I’m shocked and totally dismayed at how a picture of me is being circulated on social media.
“To those individuals who have interpreted and commented on what my thoughts were in that horrific and distressful moment, I would like to say not only have I been devastated by witnessing the aftermath of a shocking and numbing terror attack.
“I’ve also had to deal with the shock of finding my picture plastered all over social media by those who could not look beyond my attire, who draw conclusions based on hate and xenophobia.
“My thoughts at that moment were one of sadness, fear and concern. What the image does not show is that I had talked to other witnesses to try and find out what was happening, to see if I could be of any help, even though enough people were at the scene tending to the victims.
“I then decided to call my family to say that I was fine and was making my way home from work, assisting a lady along the way by helping her get to Waterloo station.
“My thoughts go out to all the victims and their families. I would like to thank Jamie Lorriman, the photographer who took the picture, for speaking to the media in my defence.”
WOMAN WHO FELL INTO THAMES ABOUT TO RECEIVE PROPOSAL
The boyfriend of the woman who plunged into the Thames as a car ploughed into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge was planning to propose later that day.
The Sun reports that Andreea Cristea, 29, was pulled from the river alive after she fell into the water during the attack.
Ms Cristea was on holiday from Romania with partner Andrei Burnaz to celebrate his birthday.
The BBC reports she was due to receive a marriage proposal the same day as the terror attack in which five people, including the terrorist, died.
The architect, who is still in a serious condition, “was practically thrown into the Thames” during the incident the Romanian ambassador has said.
The driver of the car smashed it into railings outside the Houses of Parliament before running into a courtyard and stabbing a policeman — who later died.
The couple were on the bridge at about 2.40pm (local time) when the terrorist waged his manic attack in the London tourist hotspot.
Mr Burnaz suffered a fractured foot during the attack as the pair walked in the direction of the London Eye.
Romanian ambassador, Dan Mihalache said Andreea remains unconscious in a London hospital.
He said she was “stable, but in a good direction” and added: “It’s a miracle she survived. She was practically thrown into the Thames.”
Police today released the first photograph of the killer Khalid Masood showing him staring unsmiling into the camera almost exactly 48 hours after he unleashed a horror attack on Westminster.
The 52-year-old was gunned down by a security guard moments after mowing down crowds on Westminster bridge.
FOURTH VICTIM OF ATTACKS NAMED
Counter-terror chief Mark Rowley has identified the fourth victim of the London attacks.
Leslie Rhodes, 75, from Streatham, south London died in hospital on Thursday after doctors made the decision to turn off his life support.
Mr Rhodes, a window cleaner, was reportedly crossing Westminster Bridge to St Thomas’ Hospital for glaucoma treatment when he was struck by the car in the stomach before hitting his head.
He was never married but leaves behind a nephew and niece for close family.
Meanwhile, Prince Charles has visited people injured in the London attack, meeting privately with victims at a hospital.
The heir to the British throne thanked staff at King’s College Hospital for their “marvellous efforts.”
He shook hands with nurses, who took photos of him as he left the ward.
Charles said: “How you do it, I don’t know.”
The hospital has treated eight victims.
Just a quick update guys. Massive thanks to @KingsCollegeNHS and to @ClarenceHouse for visiting today. #londonattack pic.twitter.com/e0tVHJhse9
— Travis Dylan Frain (@travisfrain) March 24, 2017
POLICE RELEASE SEVEN ARRESTED OVER ATTACK
A total of 11 people have been arrested over the attack, their ages ranging from 21 to 58, all on suspicion of preparation of terrorist attacks.
Three of the women held have since been released, one on bail, while four of the men were also released, according to police.
The three women and four men were all arrested in the central England city of Birmingham, where attacker Khalid Masood recently lived. All had been arrested on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts.
Four other people remain in custody as police try to learn how Masood became radicalised and went on a rampage.
Police believe Masood acted alone but want to know whether others helped him prepare the attack and whether he was directed on his mission of by jihadi mentors.
The Islamic State terror group claimed responsibility for the attack as A’map news agency reported Masoof was a “soldier of the Islamic State”.
Armed officers made two of the “significant” arrests overnight in Birmingham and Manchester as part of a nationwide investigation, codenamed Operation Classific, being led by London’s Met Police SO15 counter-terrorism command into the attack.
Acting Deputy Commissioner Mark Rowley said: “Whilst there is no evidence of further threats you will understand our determination to find out if he either: acted totally alone inspired by terrorist propaganda; or, if others have encouraged, supported or directed him.
“At this point I want to appeal specifically to the public.
“We remain keen to hear from anyone who knew Khalid Masood well; understands who his associates were; and can provide us with information about places he has recently visited.”
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