A multiple stabbing leaves three dead in Reading
Three people have died in the town of Reading, England, after being stabbed by a man who was arrested by the police. The detainee is a citizen of Libyan origin and the event was declared a terrorist incident by the British police.
The incident took place in Forbury Gardens, a central park in the town between London and Oxford, at around 18.00 GMT on Saturday, shortly after a peaceful protest against the racism of the Black Lives Matter movement had taken place there.
Specialist officers from the anti-terrorist unit went to the scene; and police sources confirmed that the incident was a "terrorist incident" and that a man of Libyan origin was arrested by a single officer shortly after attempting to flee the scene. A witness told the Middle Sunday Mirror that "a man with a knife started attacking at random" and that "the attack was stopped when a lone officer ran to the scene, saw the attacker running away with a knife and knocked him to the ground.
The British police confirmed on Sunday that this was an act of "terrorism". In a statement, Thames Valley Police Chief Inspector John Campbell said the anti-terrorism unit "can now confirm that what happened last night in Reading has been declared a terrorist incident". From now on, he added, it will be the officers of the CTPSE (South East England Counter Terrorism Police) who will handle the case. The officers are questioning a detainee, a 25-year-old male, who according to local media is an asylum seeker of Libyan nationality, who may have mental health problems.
Apart from the three dead, at least as many are in serious condition and were taken to hospital, according to the BBC.
Several police patrols and two air ambulances went to the park when the attacks occurred, while the area was cordoned off and citizens were asked to stay away. Two of the injured people were admitted "critically" to the Royal Berkshire Hospital.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on social media that his "thoughts are with all those affected by this terrible incident in Reading", while thanking the emergency services for their action. For her part, the Home Secretary, Priti Patel, also expressed on networks her "deep concern" about what happened.
The park where the stabbings took place had previously been the site of a peaceful protest against the racism of the Black Lives Matter movement. Several witnesses indicated that the alleged aggressor stabbed several people who were sitting in the park in groups indiscriminately, until, upon realizing that people were starting to run, the individual tried to flee the scene, finally being arrested a few minutes later.
The latest terrorist attack in the British nation occurred on 2 February, when London police officers shot dead a terrorist after he stabbed two people, a man and a woman, in a busy shopping street in the Streatham area of south London.
Also on 29 November last year, two people were stabbed to death by Usman Khan, 28, during a prisoner rehabilitation event, and he was subsequently shot dead on London Bridge.