Man who threatened to blow up Cricklewood Islamic bookshop has been sentenced

David Moffatt, aged 39, has been sentenced to 100 hours of community service for threatening to blow up an Islamic bookshop in Cricklewood.

On the afternoon of 23 May, the Metropolitan Police received a report that a man had entered into an Islamic bookshop in Cricklewood Broadway, shouting “kill the Muslims,” and threatening to blow up the shop.  The man left the shop after making the threat.

Witnesses described the man as wearing an orange high-visibility jacket and trousers.

Later that day, Moffatt was identified as the suspect when he made an unrelated call to the police alleging that he had been threatened. Police officers then realized that Moffatt’s clothing matched the description of the Cricklewood incident suspect.

Following his arrest, Moffatt commented, “I’m not anti-Muslim, I’m Catholic.”

On 28 July, Moffatt pleaded guilty to religiously aggravated harassment at Willesden Magistrates’ Court.

Moffatt was sentenced to a community order of 100 hours of unpaid work and £705 in costs and victim surcharges.

In response to this incident, Detective Inspector Madeline Ryder of Brent’s Community Safety Unit stated, “Hate crime is unacceptable and Brent’s community safety unit is committed to tackling hate crime in all its forms, supporting victims and their families and bringing perpetrators like Moffatt to justice.”