Three killed after man goes on stabbing spree in British town's park, police say

[rooster59]

Three killed after man goes on stabbing spree in British town's park, police say

By Peter Cziborra

 

Police officers and their vehicles close off a road after reported multiple stabbings in Reading, Britain, June 20, 2020. REUTERS/Peter Cziborra

 

READING, England (Reuters) - Three people were killed and another three seriously injured when a man went on a stabbing spree in a park in the southern English town of Reading on Saturday, though police said they were not currently treating the incident as terrorism.

 

Witnesses said a man went on the rampage at around 1800 GMT in Forbury Gardens, stabbing people at random who had gathered in the park on a sunny summer evening in Reading, which is about 40 miles (65 km) west of London.

 

A 25-year-old man from Reading was arrested on suspicion of murder, police said, adding that they were not searching for any more suspects.

 

"There is no intelligence to suggest that there is any further danger to the public, however we urge people to remain vigilant and report anything suspicious by calling police," Detective Chief Superintendent Ian Hunter said.

 

"This is not currently being treated as a terrorism incident, however officers are keeping an open mind as to the motivation for the incident and are being supported by colleagues from Counter Terrorism Policing South East."

 

A witness who spoke to the BBC, Lawrence Wort, said the attack began when a man suddenly veered toward a group of about eight to 10 friends and began stabbing them, "so the first three he got so completely out of the blue, he got very badly".

 

Wort said the assailant locked eyes with him and the person he was with and started coming toward them, but they ran to safety, at which point the man turned back to attack another group. When everyone started running from the scene, the attacker ran from the park, Wort said.

 

"My thoughts are with all of those affected by the appalling incident in Reading and my thanks to the emergency services on the scene," Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.

 

'DEEPLY SHOCKING'

 

Video footage posted on Twitter showed paramedics rushing to help at least three people who were bleeding on the ground. Reuters was unable to verify the footage independently.

 

Matt Rodda, a lawmaker who represents Reading in Britain's parliament, said the park, located in an historic area of the town, was typically busy on a Saturday evening.

 

"It's used by people to sit and meet with friends and obviously at the moment people have been meeting there, observing social distancing, and just chatting to friends peacefully in a park," Rodda told Sky News.

 

"This incident happened in that kind of environment so it's really quite deeply shocking for local people."

 

Current coronavirus restrictions mean venues like pubs are closed, so many people in Britain gather in parks in the evenings to meet friends.

 

The head of the local council authority in Reading, Jason Brock, said his thoughts were "with the families of all those who have died or have been injured."

 

The attack in Reading took place at the site of a Black Lives Matter anti-racism protest in the town earlier on Saturday but police said it was not connected.

 

"There have been some reports that this incident was linked to the Black Lives Matter protest which took place in Reading earlier this afternoon," Hunter said. "I can confirm that this incident is not connected. It occurred around three hours after the protest had concluded."

 

Some 36 people were killed in four attacks in Britain blamed by authorities on terrorism in 2017, the most deadly of which occurred at the end of a concert by U.S. singer Ariana Grande in Manchester, northern England, with other attacks at London Bridge and near parliament.

 

Last year the government downgraded the national terrorism threat level to "substantial," meaning an attack is likely, from "severe".

 

(Reporting by Peter Cziborra in Reading, Michael Holden and Guy Faulconbridge in London and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Writing by William Schomberg/Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Frances Kerry and Daniel Wallis)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-06-21

 

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[chickenslegs]

Quote

It appears the attack was stopped when a lone sergeant, who responded when the alarm was raised, ran to the scene, saw the attacker running away with a knife and rugby tackled him to the ground.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/11915127/reading-terror-attack-stabbing-hero-police-officer/

Op doesn't give details of how the offender was arrested. I got this from the Sun website. Terrific work by this police officer.

RIP those who died.

[vogie]

Earlier the BBC said that security sources thought the man to be a Libyan, but the police have said they do not think it is terror related.

[englishoak]

Diversity showing its strength again ? this scum was recently released from already going a stint in jail .. what a contribution to society this animal is. 

[Tug]

My condolences to all affected just thank god he dident have semi or fully automatic weapons it could have been much worse 

[uesnyc]

OK Lads, let's not jump to any hasty conclusions.. It's not like the case fits a profile or anything.

[i84teen]

.

 

Edited June 21, 2020 by i84teen

[RichardColeman]

Twitter says (yes, I know , pinch of salt stuff) that it was a Libyan muslim. Now, if that is true, it would appear white is not the enemy of black, and black not the enemy of white, but Islam the enemy of all (in their own words)

[uesnyc]

7 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

Twitter says (yes, I know , pinch of salt stuff) that it was a Libyan muslim. Now, if that is true, it would appear white is not the enemy of black, and black not the enemy of white, but Islam the enemy of all (in their own words)

I almost forgot about Islamist Terror with all the Marxists destroying everything lately.

Edited June 21, 2020 by uesnyc

[stevenl]

16 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

Twitter says (yes, I know , pinch of salt stuff) that it was a Libyan muslim. Now, if that is true, it would appear white is not the enemy of black, and black not the enemy of white, but Islam the enemy of all (in their own words)

Yes, because when a Christian or non-believer kills it is a crazy act, when a muslim kills it is terrorism.

[RichardColeman]

4 minutes ago, stevenl said:

Yes, because when a Christian or non-believer kills it is a crazy act, when a muslim kills it is terrorism.

Think the difference there is that yes, you get one nutty Christian doing a mass murder every 10-15 years, but with Islam it's daily

[jesimps]

2 hours ago, vogie said:

Earlier the BBC said that security sources thought the man to be a Libyan, but the police have said they do not think it is terror related.

I too read that he was Libyan. Probably a Mormon so not terror related.

[fasteddie]

44 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

Think the difference there is that yes, you get one nutty Christian doing a mass murder every 10-15 years, but with Islam it's daily

Daily eh? Please supply links to every day last weeks Islamic mass murders.

[baansgr]

10 minutes ago, jesimps said:

I too read that he was Libyan. Probably a Mormon so not terror related.

It's already confirmed was terror related...The Biased Broadcasting Company will of course say it's not

[Krataiboy]

2 hours ago, chickenslegs said:

Op doesn't give details of how the offender was arrested. I got this from the Sun website. Terrific work by this police officer.

RIP those who died.

The Reuter's story doesn't mention, either, that the attacker is from Libya, a Muslim breeding ground for jihadi terrorism.

 

Sloppy journalism - or political correctness?

[blazes]

19 minutes ago, baansgr said:

Can't remember the last time anyone ran down the street stabbing and beheading Muslims shouting Jesus Christ...when was that?

 

Round about 33 AD?......

[blazes]

2 hours ago, Tug said:

My condolences to all affected just thank god he dident have semi or fully automatic weapons it could have been much worse 

 

This Reading is in the UK, not the USA.  As far as I know, they don't sell semi-automatic knives in Reading.

 

sorry if it's confusing....

Edited June 21, 2020 by blazes

[twocatsmac]

2 hours ago, vogie said:

Earlier the BBC said that security sources thought the man to be a Libyan, but the police have said they do not think it is terror related.

20 armed anti- terrorist police stormed his flat.

Many witnesses on various media sites think it related to a terror attack and/or the BLM protest that had just taken place. 

Not Britains “ honest” police though.

 They appealed for witnesses not to repeat what they’d just seen and heard and not to share videos on social media. 

Edited June 21, 2020 by twocatsmac

[Catoni]

2 hours ago, Tug said:

My condolences to all affected just thank god he dident have semi or fully automatic weapons it could have been much worse 

Three are dead. More wounded badly. Time to ban carrying knives. 

   Oh wait... it’s already against the law to carry knives in England. 

   There have been bombings in England lately, even though bombs are against the law. 

    Criminals of all stripes simply don’t give a damn about our laws outlawing weapons. 

     Those laws just leave law abiding people defenseless. 

[CorpusChristie]

1 minute ago, Catoni said:

Three are dead. More wounded badly. Time to ban carrying knives. 

   Oh wait... it’s already against the law to carry knives in England. 

   There have been bombings in England lately, even though bombs are against the law. 

    Criminals of all stripes simply don’t give a damn about our laws outlawing weapons. 

     Those laws just leave law abiding people defenseless. 

Guns are not easy to get in the UK , if this guy managed to get hold of a semi , many more would now be dead

[Catoni]

Latest is that ...”The Telegraph has learnt that the incident is being treated as terror-related….”

[mr mr]

if this had been a mass shooting the headline would of clearly identified the attackers color. we all know white guys do the mass shootings. 

 

the bias in reporting now a days is clear as mud. i bet they say asian when they finally talk about it. 

[Bender Rodriguez]

at least in the US, it mostly end with:  the TERRORIST is DEAD

[Baerboxer]

4 hours ago, vogie said:

Earlier the BBC said that security sources thought the man to be a Libyan, but the police have said they do not think it is terror related.

 

He is a 25 year old Libyan immigrant who has previously served a prion sentence - for an offense described as "minor" but not detailed.

 

A protest organized by Black Lives Matter. Shortly after it finishes a black Muslim attacks complete white strangers, only white people, with a knife, killing 3, seriously injury another 3 who might die, and would have carried on attacking people had he not been stopped by the police. One witness was quoted as saying the attacker was shouting something unintelligible whilst attacking.

 

And the police don't think it's terror related! 

[Baerboxer]

3 hours ago, stevenl said:

Yes, because when a Christian or non-believer kills it is a crazy act, when a muslim kills it is terrorism.

 

If the Christian or non-believer kills in order to push a political or ideological agenda it would be correctly labelled terrorism.

 

Why do you think Muslims should be treated differently?

 

The attacker is a black Muslim who murdered and seriously wounded random white people because of their skin colour and/or non Muslim status. 

 

Or perhaps you think he's simply mentally ill and it's just a coincidence all the victims were white non Muslims?

[Chomper Higgot]

RIP the dead, a speedy recovery for the injured and condolences to all who have been effected by this despicable attack.

 

 

Forbury Gardens are otherwise an idyllic spot and a favourite picnic, sunbathing or just chill place for many in Reading.

 

The place now irreversibly stained by this atrocity.

Edited June 21, 2020 by Chomper Higgot

[torturedsole]

Now lockdown is being lifted in the UK we seem to be back to the old normal and I'm not surprised in the slightest.   

[Darksidedude]

5 hours ago, vogie said:

Earlier the BBC said that security sources thought the man to be a Libyan, but the police have said they do not think it is terror related.

all western governments are to scared to say the truth, things have happened in Melbourne which are terrorism related for sure but they just say the person had mental problems and you dont hear anymore about it 

[Benmart]

4 hours ago, Tug said:

My condolences to all affected just thank god he dident have semi or fully automatic weapons it could have been much worse 

Firearms are not mentioned. Neither are explosive vests, IED's or a car bomb. I focus on the story and leave God out of it.

[Orton Rd]

Give the guy a break, we gave him asylum, a slap on the writst prison sentence, probably for a sex crime, free health care, free benifits and a free flat many native born people in Reading would love to get. He's obviously been treated quite appalingly and we have to understand his religion gives him the green light to go out and knife people to death, we have to be more inclusive and understand them a bit more, before we give him life of course in a cushy prison. ????