LONDON — A young woman rushed to help victims of the London mosque terror attack — only to discover her brother was among the wounded.
Nassima Benaouda, 21, told NBC News’ partner ITV News of her shock at discovering her relative was among those deliberately struck by a van after prayers early Monday.
"When I saw my brother I was traumatized, I couldn't believe it until I actually looked at him and said, 'Is it you?'" she recalled.
Benaouda was walking with her friend in the north London district of Finsbury Park, after leaving a mosque to get food, when they saw victims lying on the ground in the aftermath of the attack.
She began to help a wounded woman before realizing her brother was also injured nearby.
“He couldn't breathe, he couldn't move, because he had injuries in his back and pelvic area,” Benaouda said. “I had to rip off his jacket, rip off his T-shirt, I had to give him water, put water all over him, just to calm him down.”
She added: "He said, 'I'm fine, I'm fine, don't worry about me' but I could see he wasn't fine."
Benaouda said she was too upset to identify her brother, who was being treated for serious injuries in a London hospital.
Her friend Marwa Karkar, 22, who was with her at the time, said she heard the angry crowd shouting "restrain him, restrain him” as the suspect was pinned down awaiting arrest.
The women said they now feel unsafe in their neighborhood.
"It's our local area, it's our local mosque, it's where we've grown up," Karkar said. "The mosque for us is a peaceful place. It's a place of worship."
A version of this story first appeared on ITV News. ITV News' Briony Rose and Roohi Hasan contributed to this report.
