Man drives car into Masjid al-Haram in Saudi Arabia

MAKKAH: A man drove his speeding car into the outer gate of Masjid al-Haram also known as the grand mosque of Mecca on Friday night according to local authorities.

The incident occurred around 10:30 pm local time and videos showing the crash have flooded social media.

The man was a Saudi citizen who has been arrested by authorities who referred him to prosecutors for possible charges. An investigation into the matter in underway.

However, it is being reported that the man appeared to be in an ‘unusual’ condition according to the Makkah region official Twitter handle.

متحدث #إمارة_مكة سلطان الدوسري :
الجهات الأمنية بمكة تُباشر حادثة ارتطام مركبة بأحد أبواب #المسجد_الحرام نتيجة انحرافها أثناء سيرها بسرعة عالية بأحد الطرق المحيطة بالساحة الجنوبية اللحرم، ولم يصب أي شخص بأذى
..المقبوض عليه مواطن بحالة غير طبيعية ، وجارٍ إحالته للنيابة العامة pic.twitter.com/wOAPnq2YPf
— إمارة منطقة مكة المكرمة (@makkahregion) October 30, 2020

According to reports, no injuries or causalities occurred when the man drove his car into Masjid al-Haram.

Furthermore, it was reported that the man first drove through two barricades before crashing into the southern gate of the mosque. Here is a video of the incident which is circulating on social media:

Watch: #SaudiArabia’s authorities arrest a man who crashed his car into one of the gates of the Grand Mosque in #Mecca, state news agency SPA reports.https://t.co/CdK4Efn8PQ pic.twitter.com/C9P5neyM0x
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) October 31, 2020