Teen Yelling 'Allah Hu Akbar' Tries Grabbing Olympic Torch in London (VIDEO)
A teenager was captured on video Friday yelling "Allah hu akbar," God is great in Arabic, while trying to snatch the Olympic torch from a runner as the flame made its way to London for the start of the Summer Games.
It is not the first time bystanders have attempted to snatch the iconic Olympic torch from its carriers, but many observers were quite surprised Friday to witness an unidentified 17-year-old make a lunge for the torch before being tackled by guards alongside the runner. Some were even more confused to hear the young man yell out "God is great!"
According to The Associated Press, the incident occurred as the flame was making its way through the town of Gravesend in the hands of Anna Skora. As seen in the videos below, the teen was successfully tackled before he could disrupt Skora. He was immediately arrested, British media have reported.
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In one video clip uploaded on YouTube, bystanders capturing the attempted torch-snatch express puzzlement at witnessing the incident:
Another observer captured the incident from a different angle, showing how quickly handlers swooped in to tackle the teen and pull the runner to safety:
A similar incident occured earlier this month when two children walked into the path of the torch bearer in Coventry, England and seemed to politely reach for the flame. The handlers in that case, drew the children aside. Here is coverage of the incident from CNN:
The torch arrived in London on Friday, having traveled 8,000 miles, and was installed by a Royal Marine onto the Tower of London. The Olympic Summer Games run from Friday, July 27 to Sunday, Aug. 12.
