Via: Evening Standard
Former classmates of Michael Adebolajo told the Standard how he started becoming interested in Islam aged 15 or 16 having been raised as a Christian.
They said his Nigerian parents became so worried about his behaviour that they moved him from their home in Romford to London in a bid to protect him from being radicalised.
Today anti-terror police raided addresses in London, Lincolnshire and in Romford and took away members of his family for questioning.
Both killers of the British soldier who was hacked to death in the street in Woolwich yesterday were revealed today as known to MI5 but are thought to have acted alone.
But detectives are investigating claims that Adebolajo may have been radicalised after attending meetings of the now banned group Al Muhajiroun.
Adebolajo, believed to be 28, was filmed after the atrocity wielding a bloodied meat cleaver, saying: "We swear by almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you."
The killer is said to have formally converted to Islam in 2003 when he started using the name Mujahid.
He attended Marshalls Park school in Romford and was described as a "nice, normal guy" by friends, who expressed "utter shock" at seeing him on television covered in blood brandishing a meat cleaver and machete, declaring "you and your kids will be next".
A friend, who asked not to be identified, said: "He was a Christian. A nice, normal guy. All his friends were white and used to go round to each other's houses all the time.
"He started getting involved with Islam aged about 15 or 16, and that is why his parents moved him away out of the area. It is utterly shocking to see what he has done. It's unbelievable."
Adebolajo began attending meetings of the banned Islamist organisation Al Muhajiroun and its successor organisations but stopped going two years ago.
Anjem Choudary, the former leader of the group, said: "I knew him as Mujahid. He attended our meetings and my lectures. I wouldn't describe him as a member [of Al Muhajiroun]. There were lots of people who came to our activities who weren't necessarily members.
"He was a pleasant, quiet guy. He converted to Islam in about 2003. He was just a completely normal guy. He was interested in Islam, in memorising the Koran. He disappeared about two years ago. I don't know what influences he has been under since then."
His accomplice in the attacks is believed to have come from nearby Harold Hill.
Anti-terror police were today preparing to question the two men who are under armed guard in two London hospitals. Neither is said to have life threatening injuries after being shot by armed officers who arrived at the scene.
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Officers were searching several addresses in London, Romford and Lincolnshire which are connected with the men.
A woman, said to be Michael's sister, was taken away by police from an address in Romford while officers raided a house in Lincolnshire believed to belong to his dad, nurse Anthony Adebolajo, 56.
In another raid in Greenwich neighbours told the BBC that four people - two sisters in their 30s, an older woman and a teenage boy, were all taken away in a police van.
The Prime Minister pledged to be “absolutely resolute” and urged Britons to carry on with their everyday lives.
In a statement outside No 10, David Cameron said: “This country will be absolutely resolute in its stand against violent extremism and terror.
“We will never give in to terror or to terrorism in any of its forms.”
The Prime Minister said every community in the land was united in condemnation of the murder. He praised the brave women who tended the body of the dead soldier and stood up to his killers.
But he said there was no reason for people to change their lives. “I’m not in favour of kneejerk responses,” he said. “One of the best ways of defeating terrorism is going about our everyday lives and that is what we shall do.”
Assistant Commissioner Simon Byrne urged Londoners to remain calm after around 50 supporters from the English Defence League threw bottles at police near the scene of the Woolwich murder last night.
He said : "The investigation into the shocking murder of a serving soldier yesterday is ongoing, and is of course a major investigation for us.
"It is only right that the ongoing investigations are allowed to take place and I would ask for Londoners help and support for us to continue. Please remain calm. London is at its best when we all come together and now is the time to do that"
He also denied reports that it took armed officers 20 minutes to reach the scene of the attack in John Wilson Street, Woolwich yesterday.
Police said the first 999 call to reports of a man being attacked in Woolwich was logged at 2.20pm. Four minutes later firearms officers were ordered to the scene following reports that the men were armed with knives and a gun.
Police said the first armed officers deployed to confront the two men 10 minutes later at 2.34pm.
Scotland Yard formally confirmed today that the victim was a serving soldier but said they were not releasing his name at the request of his family.
Security chiefs, police and politicians, including London mayor Boris Johnson, met to discuss their response to the "barbaric" attack at a meeting of the Government's Cobra crisis committee this morning.
Leaving the meeting of Cobra, which lasted around one hour, Mr Johnson appeared to indicate that yesterday's attack was being seen as a one-off incident.
He said: "Everything I am hearing leads me to think that Londoners can go about their business in the normal way and we are going to bring the killers to justice."
Earlier Mr Johnson also praised the bravery of the people of Woolwich in standing up to the two killers.
Witnesses said the two men first used a car to run over the soldier who was wearing a Help for Heroes T-shirt.
Then they dragged him to the side of the road and using a meat cleaver and knives hacked at him "like a piece of meat" and tried to behead him.
The men then dumped his body in the middle of the road and calmly talked to bystanders while they appeared to wait for police to arrive.
Meanwhile, a woman who risked her life to confront one of the killers who murdered the soldier in broad daylight in front of horrified passers by described how she tried to calm him moments after the barbaric attack.
Cub leader Ingrid Loyau-Kennett, 48, was on a bus heading through Woolwich when she spotted the stricken soldier lying bloodied in the road.
Her bravery - and that of others who tried to reason with the killers - has been praised, particularly in the wake of amateur footage from the scene, which shows one of the killers making political statements about the slaughter while still brandishing weapons.
She told ITV Daybreak : "He said 'Don't touch, I killed him'. I said 'Why?' He said 'He's a British soldier. He killed people. He killed Muslim people in Muslim countries'.
"And I said, OK. So what would you like? I tried to make him talk about how he felt. He said all the bombs dropping and blindly killing women, children
The victim, thought to be aged 20, had reportedly been on duty at an Army recruitment office in central London was on his way back to the Royal Artillery Barracks when he was attacked.
The dark blue Vauxhall Tigra used in the attack in John Wilson Street was covered with a red tarpaulin and taken away by a tow truck last night.
Security was tightened around all military bases across the UK today.
In London extra armed patrols were deployed around barracks but sources denied reports that military personnel had been told not to wear uniforms off base.
In a statement, the Greenwich Islamic Centre said: "The Muslims of the Greenwich Islamic Centre in the Royal Borough of Greenwich today condemn in the strongest terms the barbaric murder of a serving Army officer and share the grief and sorrow of the nation. Our hearts go out to the family, colleagues and friends of the victim of this despicable and horrific tragedy.
"We are all very deeply shocked and saddened to have witnessed a terrible crime in our neighbourhood.
"We do not and will never support such evil acts, and strongly suggest that both of these men should be severely punished as criminal and not as so-called 'Muslims' for the crime they have committed, with full force of law."
Police appealed to anyone who filmed or took photos in John Wilson Street to send them to police via woolwich@metincident.co.uk or ring the confidential Anti-Terrorist Hotline 0800 789 321.
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