Mother of London attacker says her son was radicalized online
The mother of one of the three men who attacked pedestrians on and near London Bridge on Saturday, killing eight and wounding dozens, says the internet radicalized her son, and his views became even more "rigid" after he moved to England.
Speaking to reporters from her home in Bologna, Italy, Valeria Khadija Collina, the mother of Youssef Zaghba, 22, said she could tell he had been radicalized "from his face, from his look." She said she visited Zaghba in London but didn't feel comfortable in his neighborhood and did not approve of his friends. Zaghba, an Italian national of Moroccan descent, told his mother he wanted to move to Syria to live under the Islamic State but not fight, she said, and he was stopped at the Bologna airport in March 2016 with a one-way ticket to Istanbul. He was never charged with any crime, but his name was entered into an intelligence sharing system used by European countries, The Associated Press reports.
Collina spoke with her son two days before the attack, and said they had a "sweet" conversation. Authorities don't yet know how Zaghba and the other attackers, Khurum Butt and Rachid Redouane, knew each other, and Collina said one of her son's friends claimed to recognize one of the other attackers. Collina disavowed the attack, saying it was "something that has no sense, for any religion, or any ideology."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Why is Tesla stumbling?
In the Spotlight More competition, confusion about the future and a giant pay package for Elon Musk
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
How Taylor Swift changed copyright negotiations in music
under the radar The success of Taylor's Version rerecordings has put new pressure on record labels
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Job scams are increasingly common. Here's what to look out for.
The Explainer You should never pay for an application or give out your personal info before being hired
By Becca Stanek, The Week US Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published