2020 Reading stabbings

On 20 June 2020 shortly before 19:00 BST, a man with a knife attacked people socialising in Forbury Gardens, Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom. Three men died from their wounds, and three other people were seriously injured. A 25-year-old Libyan male refugee was arrested nearby shortly afterwards. On 29 June 2020, the suspect appeared by video link at Westminster Magistrates' Court charged with three counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder. As of 10 July 2020 he is remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on 30 November 2020.

2020 Reading stabbings
Police presence at Forbury Gardens on 21 June
LocationForbury Gardens, Reading, Berkshire,
United Kingdom
Date20 June 2020
shortly before 19:00 (BST (UTC+1))
TargetVisitors at Forbury Gardens
Attack type
Stabbing
WeaponsKnife
Deaths3
Injured3

Attack

Shortly before 19:00 BST on 20 June 2020 a lone man shouting what a witness described as "unintelligible words" attacked two groups of people socialising.[1][2] It happened in Forbury Gardens, a public park in the centre of Reading, Berkshire, England, about 40 miles (60 km) west of London. The attacker used a kitchen knife that a witness estimated to have been at least five inches (13 cm) long.[3][4][5] The victims sustained injuries to the eye, neck, head, and back.[6][3] A witness said the stabbing was "completely random".[1][2] At 18:56 BST, officers from Thames Valley Police went to the park, responding to reports of a stabbing with multiple casualties.[7][8]

A suspect with a knife was chased, tackled, and pinned to the ground on Friar Street a short distance from the park by police officers five minutes after the first 999 call was made.[9][10][11] The man was arrested, initially on suspicion of murder, and later re-arrested while in custody under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000.[12]

A Black Lives Matter protest had taken place at the park earlier in the day, but police said that the attack was not associated with the protest.[13]

Suspect

The suspect is a 25-year-old man who was arrested near the park shortly after the attack.[14][15] He was born in Libya and in 2018 was given permission to stay in the United Kingdom after claiming asylum in 2012.[16] A family member said he had post-traumatic stress from the civil war and had come to the United Kingdom from Libya in 2012 to escape from violence there, living first in Manchester.[4][17] The suspect was convicted six times for 15 crimes between 2015 and 2019,[18] was said to have smoked cannabis,[19][20] and had regular visits from a mental health professional.[20] A security source told Reuters that the suspect had come to the attention of Britain’s domestic security agency MI5 in 2019 over intelligence that he aspired to travel for extremist purposes, and he had been investigated over jihadist concerns.[21][22] He had been released from jail 17 days before the attack, having been sentenced for assault and possessing a bladed article.[4] The Guardian reported that sources said that the suspect was believed by the intelligence agencies to have mental health problems.[23] Sky News additionally reported that he lived in a flat in Reading.[15]

Casualties

The attack resulted in three fatalities at the scene,[24] as well as three seriously injured with knife wounds to their head, face, hand, and back.[3][25][26] The Thames Valley Air Ambulance and the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance were deployed to the scene, and South Central Ambulance Service deployed their Hazardous Area Response Team.[27][28] Of the injured people, two were admitted to the Royal Berkshire Hospital's emergency department, in Reading.[29][30][31] One other injured person was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, but was discharged without being admitted.[12] One of the injured was a friend of the three fatalities.[3]

The three men who were killed were friends and post-mortem examinations showed that they each died of a single stab wound; two were stabbed in the neck, and one in the back.[16][32] They were a 36-year-old teacher at The Holt School, in Wokingham in Berkshire; a 39-year-old American citizen who worked for a pharmaceutical company and had been living in Britain for 15 years; and a 49-year-old senior scientist at the chemical company Johnson Matthey.[33][34]

Investigation

Initial police statements from Thames Valley Police on the evening of the incident said that the incident was "not currently being treated as a terrorism incident" and that they were "keeping an open mind as to the motivation", although counter terrorism officers were deployed.[35] The next morning, Counter-Terrorism Policing South East stated that the attacks were "a terror incident".[13][35] It took over command of the incident from the local police, with support from MI5.[13][35][36] Police were on 22 June granted a warrant of further detention with regard to the suspect until 27 June.[37]

Charges

On 27 June 2020, the suspect was charged with three counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder.[24][38]

Court proceedings

On 29 June 2020, the suspect appeared by video link at Westminster Magistrates' Court charged with three counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder.[24][38] The prosecutor said the accused was heard shouting words to the effect of Allahu Akbar.[39] He was remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey.[40] After appearing at the Old Bailey by video link from Belmarsh Prison, London, for two preliminary hearings - firstly on 1 July and then again on 10 July, the judge set 30 November 2020 as a provisional date for a full trial.[41]

Reactions

Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed his condolences and thanked emergency services for responding to the scene.[42][1][43] On the following morning, 21 June, Johnson met with senior ministers, police, and security officials at 10 Downing Street to be briefed on the events.[13] Home Secretary Priti Patel and Labour Party Leader Keir Starmer both expressed concern over the incident.[1][44]

The leader of Reading Borough Council said he was "shocked and appalled" by the "horrific and senseless attack", expressed his condolences, and thanked the emergency services for their response.[42] The council issued a statement saying that their "thoughts and prayers are with the families of the three people who lost their lives, and for those who remain seriously injured", and announcing that their flag would fly at half mast for the day.[45]

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See also

References
  1. Wright, Mike; Bird, Steve; Hardy, Jack (20 June 2020). "Reading stabbings: Man arrested after three killed in Forbury Gardens attack". The Telegraph. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  2. Stubley, Peter (20 June 2020). "Reading stabbing: At least two people stabbed in 'serious incident' in town centre". Independent. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  3. "Reading knife attack: man appears in court on murder charges". The Guardian. 29 June 2020.
  4. Harley, Nicky (22 June 2020). "Judge warned Reading stabbing suspect Khairi Saadallah was falling through the cracks". The National.
  5. Rachel Treisman (21 June 2020). "Authorities in U.K. Will Investigate English Park Stabbing As A Terrorist Incident". NPR. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  6. Grierson, Jamie; Sabbagh, Dan; Weaver, Matthew; Murphy, Simon; Blackall, Molly (21 June 2020). "Libyan held over Reading multiple stabbing 'known to security services'". The Guardian.
  7. "Chief Constable Statement - Reading". www.thamesvalley.police.uk. Thames Valley Police. 21 June 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  8. Alice Knight (20 June 2020). "Police release full statement amid major incident in town". Reading Chronicle. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  9. Murphy, Simon; Weaver, Matthew; Busby, Mattha (21 June 2020). "Witnesses tell how an evening in a Reading park ended in horror". The Guardian.
  10. Kirby, Dean (21 June 2020). "'Hero' police praised for bravery when tackling Forbury Gardens terror suspect". I News.
  11. Dearden, Lizzie; Sengupta, Kim (21 June 2020). "Three dead as police investigate terror motive in Reading attack". Independent.
  12. "Reading stabbing attack suspect Khairi Saadallah known to MI5 - sources". BBC News. 21 June 2020.
  13. "Reading stabbings: PM Johnson says he is 'appalled' by attack". BBC News. 21 June 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  14. "Reading stabbings: Three people dead after Forbury Gardens attack". BBC News. 21 June 2020.
  15. "Reading stabbings: Forbury Gardens attack was terror incident - suspect is Libyan asylum seeker". Sky News. 20 June 2020.
  16. "Reading stabbings suspect appears in court". BBC News. 29 June 2020.
  17. "Reading attack victims were 'true gentlemen'". BBC News. 23 June 2020.
  18. Luke Powell; Flora Thompson (22 June 2020). "Park terror suspect Khairi Saadallah's history revealed in court papers". Grimsby Telegraph. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  19. Fiona Hamilton; Jack Malvern; John Simpson (22 June 2020). "Khairi Saadallah: Reading killings suspect with a crucifix tattoo who liked whisky and a smoke". The Times. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  20. "Reading stabbing attack suspect Khairi Saadallah known to MI5 - sources". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  21. Nicholls, Peter (21 June 2020). "UPDATE 4-Britain says stabbing "atrocity" in town park was terrorism". Reuters.
  22. Mendick, Robert; Hymas, Charles; Ward, Victoria; Evans, Martin (21 June 2020). "Reading stabbings: terror suspect was on MI5 list; Security services had investigated Libyan Khairi Saadallah over jihadist fears". The Telegraph.
  23. Grierson, Jamie; Sabbagh, Dan; Weaver, Matthew; Murphy, Simon; Blackall, Molly (21 June 2020). "Libyan held over Reading multiple stabbing 'known to security services'". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  24. "Released on behalf of CTPSE – Man charged following incident in Reading | Thames Valley Police". www.thamesvalley.police.uk. Thames Valley Police. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  25. "Reading park stabbings: What we know so far". BBC News. 21 June 2020.
  26. "Reading stabbings: How the terror attack unfolded". Sky News. 22 June 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  27. Ward, EJ (20 June 2020). "Forbury Gardens: 'Several dead' after mass stabbing incident in Reading". LBC News. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  28. South Central Ambulance Service [@SCAS999] (21 June 2020). "our Hazardous Area Response Team (HART), the helicopter and critical care response unit from Thames Valley Air Ambulance and the critical care unit from Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance, two ambulance doctors and our colleagues from London Ambulance Service" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  29. Hornall, Thomas; Astle, Mary-ann (20 June 2020). "Multiple stabbings as police deal with 'major incident' in Reading park". Stoke on Trent Live. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  30. "Tributes paid to teacher killed in Reading stabbing". BBC News. 21 June 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  31. Connett, David; Otte, Jedidajah (20 June 2020). "Reading stabbing: three dead as UK police investigate possible terrorism link". The Guardian. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  32. Ward, Victoria (29 June 2020). "Reading stabbings suspect 'shouted Allahu Akbar' moments before killing three, court hears". The Telegraph.
  33. "Reading terror attack: Second victim was 39-year-old American man". Sky News. 22 June 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  34. Grierson, Jamie (22 June 2020). "Scientist David Wails named as third victim of Reading terror attack". The Guardian.
  35. "Murder Investigation – Reading" (Press release). Thames Valley Police. 21 June 2020. Archived from the original on 21 June 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  36. Dodd, Vikram; Weaver, Matthew; Morris, Steven (23 June 2020). "Reading attack: suspect ruled out as possible terrorist twice in two years". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  37. "Third victim of Reading attack named as scientist David Wails". Evening Standard. 22 June 2020.
  38. "Man charged over Reading stabbings". BBC News. 27 June 2020.
  39. "Reading attack suspect shouted 'Allahu akbar' during park stabbing, court hears". The Independent. 29 June 2020.
  40. "Reading stabbings: Terror suspect Khairi Saadallah appears at Old Bailey". BBC News. 1 July 2020.
  41. "Trial of man over suspected terror attack in Forbury Gardens scheduled for November". Berkshire Live. Reach plc. 10 July 2020.
  42. "Reading stabbings: At least two stabbed as police deal with 'terror incident'". Sky News. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  43. Cllr Jason Brock [@JN_Brock] (20 June 2020). "My thoughts are with all those injured tonight. The Police and emergency services responding have my gratitude and full support and I'd ask everyone in our town to continue to keep clear and let them carry out their work" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  44. "Three dead in stabbing attack in English town of Reading: report". Reuters. 20 June 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  45. Nickless, Victoria (21 June 2020). "Statement: Forbury Gardens Attack Reading" (Press release). Reading Borough Council. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
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