‘Laughing’ man who firebombed migrant centre and injured two is found dead at nearby petrol station: Suspect drove more than 100 miles to carry out attack while Army bomb squad discover another ‘device’ left in his car after he ‘kills himself’
- A man hurled three petrol bombs attached with fireworks at a migrant centre in Dover, Kent, then took his life
- Emergency services rushed to the scene as flames engulfed the building, with 700 migrants evacuated
- A video shows terrified bystanders running away from the scene of the blaze outside the processing centre
A ‘laughing’ man who fire-bombed a Dover migrant processing centre drove more than 100 miles to the site before hurling three bombs in an attack which left two injured before he ‘killed himself’ at a nearby petrol station.
Eyewitnesses described seeing a white man attack the Western Jet Foil immigration centre in Dover, where nearly 1,000 migrants were brought for processing less than 24 hours earlier.
Astonishing pictures captured the moment the man, whose identity is unknown, reached out of his car window and tossed a petrol canister, which appeared to have a firework strapped to it.
Onlookers described hearing several explosions as ‘all hell broke loose’ and that the suspect was ‘laughing’ as threw the devices at the holding facility.
After the incident, the suspect killed himself at a nearby BP petrol garage, according to a photographer who witnessed the incident.
A motive for the attack remains unclear.
The man is believed to have driven more than 100 miles to Dover and was not based locally, sources indicated last night.
It is understood police have so far failed to establish a link between the attacker and any far Right groups.
Early investigations have indicated the petrol-bomber had not published any remarks or other online posts which suggested a link with extremism, the Mail understands.
Initial background searches by detectives indicate he was operating alone, sources told the Mail.
A man throws a petrol bomb out of a car window next to the Border Force centre in Dover on Sunday morning
Flames could be seen on the ground as the man threw a petrol bomb with a firework attached of the car window
Forensic officers by the car allegedly involved in an incident near the migrant processing centre in Dover, Kent, on Sunday
A man threw three petrol bombs at a migrant processing centre in Kent, and took his own life according to witnesses
The petrol bomb flew out of the window as the man threw it to the ground in Dover next to a border force centre
One of the three bombs is understood not to have gone off, while two others are believed to have become ignited
Members of the military and UK Border Force extinguish a fire from a petrol bomb in Dover, Kent
The MP for Dover said the ‘truly shocking’ attack should bring new urgency to tackling the Channel crisis.
Natalie Elphicke said: ‘With numbers of arrivals spiralling and tensions rising, it’s now vital to see action taken to end the small boats crisis.’
She added that people at the migrant centre are being ‘looked after’ following the ‘dreadful’ attack.
‘I think it is fair to say that tensions have been running high over the last period. And indeed, I’d raised my concerns about that with the immigration minister earlier this week,’ she told LBC radio.
Video footage showed a fire ripping through the barriers surrounding Western Jet Foil, where huge lines of migrants were seen on Saturday waiting to be processed as 990 arrived in one day alone.
After receiving welfare checks at Western Jet Foil, formerly known as Tug Haven, migrants are moved down the road to a former RAF base in Manston, Kent, for full security checks which should take no more than 24 hours.
On Sunday, eyewitness Gary Smith, 31, claimed the suspect, who ‘looked like he was in his 50s’, was chuckling as he threw the bombs.
He said: ‘I was walking over a nearby bridge and I could see him throwing the bombs.
‘He was just laughing while he was doing it. It was crazy.’
Mark Williamson, 59, an international lorry driver from Leeds, was on the scene moments after the driver died, and said he thought it was a ‘gangland shooting’.
He said: ‘I saw the dead guy just after it happened.
‘The next minute, armed response turned up. It was surreal.’
Graham Hall, a 60-year-old international lorry driver from Market Harborough, said ‘it was like all hell broke loose’.
Gary Smith, 31, who saw the incident said that the man laughed as he threw the petrol bombs.
‘I was walking over a nearby bridge and I could see him throwing the bombs,’ he told The Sun.
‘They we’re making loud bangs. I think he threw about four or five. He was just laughing while he was doing it. It was crazy.’
‘I heard what I thought was cannons going off and thought it must have been an event,’ another witness told Kent Online.
‘We paused the TV to hear. There were at least six or seven.
‘To think it was actually explosions that we heard is just so upsetting. I really hope no one is hurt.’
Police arrived on the scene within minutes along with an army bomb disposal team which examined the three explosive devices.
The extinguished fire from a petrol bomb at the migrant processing centre in Dover, following an attack on Sunday morning
The group managed to successfully extinguish the flames after the petrol bomb was thrown
Another fire burns next to the Border Force centre after a firebomb attack in Dover
The emergency services erect a tent around the car allegedly involved in an incident near the migrant processing centre
The car – previously covered with a tarpaulin – was concealed from view after police erected a forensic tent around it
Emergency services rush to the scene of the fire at the migrant processing centre in Dover, Kent
A map shows the location of the migrant processing centre where the man threw three petrol bombs before driving to a nearby garage and taking his own life according to witnesses
A view of the docks and the migrant processing centre in Dover, Kent, following the incident
The attacker was described as a white man in a checked top, who drove up to the centre in a white SEAT sports utility vehicle
Police officers stand by a tent around the car allegedly involved in an incident near the migrant processing centre in Dover
The emergency services at the car allegedly involved in an incident in Dover on Sunday morning
The emergency services erect a tent around the car allegedly involved in an incident near the migrant processing centre in Dover
A BP petrol station was cordoned off and officers were seen standing by a white 69-plate SEAT SUV, which was parked by the rear car wash and covered with blue tarpaulin.
Two coaches full of asylum seekers, including a number of small children, were transported out of Western Jet Foil following the attack.
A spokesperson for Kent Police told MailOnline: ‘Officers established that two to three incendiary devices had been thrown outside and into the premises by a single suspect who arrived at the scene in a car.
‘The suspect was identified, and very quickly located at a nearby petrol station, and confirmed deceased.’
The force added that two people have reported ‘minor injuries’ from inside the immigration premises.
‘The Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit attended the location to ensure there were no further threats. A further device was found and confirmed safe within the suspect’s vehicle,’ the spokesperson added.
‘The site remained open, however around 700 suspected migrants were relocated to Manston to ensure safety during the initial phase of the police investigation.
‘Enquiries into the incident remain ongoing by Kent detectives.’
A spokesman for the Home Office said: ‘We are aware of an incident at Western Jet Foil, Dover and police are in attendance.
‘It would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage.’
Staff inside the BP fuel station garage were sent home for the day at 2.30pm. A colleague said they had been shocked by what happened.
Suella Braverman has said she is ‘receiving regular updates’ after the ‘distressing’ incident in Dover.
The Home Secretary tweeted: ‘There was a distressing incident in Dover earlier today. I am receiving regular updates on the situation.
‘My thoughts are with those affected, the tireless Home Office staff and police responding.
‘We must now support those officers as they carry out their investigation.’
Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick will visit both Dover and Manston over concerns about tensions and overcrowding at the immigration centres, ITV reported.
Dover MP Natalie Elphicke told the news outlet that she warned the Immigration Minister this week about rising tensions around migration after an incident raised concerns last Sunday.
Mr Jenrick will ‘take charge of the situation’ in his visit, Ms Elphicke said.
Government figures show almost 1,000 migrants arrived in the UK via the port yesterday after crossing the Channel.
Huge lines of people thought to be migrants could be seen waiting to be processed at the Border Force compound in Dover, Kent, as a total of 990 arrived.
Nearly 40,000 have arrived in the UK so far this year after attempting the treacherous trip from France, crossing the world’s busiest shipping lanes in dinghies and other small boats, provisional figures show.
It is the highest number of arrivals in one day for a number of weeks, with more crossings taking place on Sunday morning.
The highest number in a single day was set on August 22 when 1,295 people arrived in the country.
It comes after an immigration watchdog said he was left ‘speechless’ by conditions at the Manston migrant processing centre in Kent, and warned the site has already passed the point of being unsafe.
Earlier this month, the Manston site reported an outbreak of diptheria among its population of 3,000. Bosses at Manston stated one a ‘small number’ of cases were being treated.
A police cordon remains outside the nearby petrol station, where the alleged arsonist is understood to have taken his own life
A police officer covers the car allegedly involved in the incident near the migrant processing centre in Dover, Kent
The scene at a migrant processing centre in Dover where an attacker threw petrol bombs on Sunday morning
A fire crew attends the scene of a suspected attack on a migrant processing centre in Dover
A group of people thought to be migrants at the migrant processing centre in Dover
Dozens of people were spotted being evacuated from the compound after the fire broke out
Kent Fire and Rescue Service outside the Port of Dover Cruise Terminal, close to the camp where the fire occurred
People arriving at a migrant processing centre shortly before the suspected arson attack in Dover
Chief inspector of borders and immigration David Neal told MPs earlier this week that Manston was originally meant to hold between 1,000 and 1,600 people, but there were 2,800 at the site when he visited on Monday, with more arriving.
The revelations prompted the Refugee Council to call for ‘urgent’ action and request a meeting with ministers to discuss proposals for tackling the problems.
Migrants are meant to stay at the short-term holding facility, which opened in January, for 24 hours while they undergo checks before being moved into immigration detention centres or asylum accommodation – currently hotels.
The Sunday Times reported Home Secretary Suella Braverman has been accused of failing to act on legal advice received at least three weeks ago which warned migrants were being detained for unlawfully long periods.
A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘The Home Secretary has taken urgent decisions to alleviate issues at Manston and source alternative accommodation. Claims advice was deliberately ignored are completely baseless.
‘It is right we look at all available options so decisions can be made based on the latest operational and legal advice.
‘The number of people arriving in the UK via small boats has reached record levels, which has put our asylum system under incredible pressure and costs the British taxpayer millions of pounds a day.’
Cabinet minister Michael Gove said the situation at Manston is ‘deeply concerning’, but he denied the Home Secretary ignored or dismissed legal advice.
‘The situation in Manston is not what it should be,’ he told Sky News’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme.
‘Everyone acknowledges that. We have more than 2,000 people there at the moment.’
The Liberal Democrats have called on the Government to publish the legal advice reportedly ignored by Ms Braverman.
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