UK’s Reading mourns stabbing attack victims
Police questions suspect as English town mourns three people killed in what is being treated as a ‘terror’ attack.
The English town of Reading in the United Kingdom mourns the death of three people who were stabbed to death in what is being treated as a “terror” attack, gathering for a moment of silence as police question the suspected lone attacker.
More than 100 students on Monday lit candles and laid down flowers in memory of a history teacher, James Furlong, who was named as one of the victims.
A flag in the courtyard of the Holt School, where he taught in nearby Wokingham, had been lowered to half-staff.
“He was so passionate and enthusiastic about history and about learning, and anything that was boring, anything you didn’t find interesting, he would make it interesting,″ former student Molly Collins told the BBC.
“He would spend time with you, he got to know people individually, and he just always went the extra mile for everyone.”
‘Tragic, tragic event’
Home Secretary Priti Patel visited the site of the attacks on Monday and said work was being done to make sure “justice is served”.
“We need to make sure that we learn the lessons from what has happened over the weekend to prevent anything like this from happening again,” she said.
She called the attack a “tragic, tragic event”, as pupils at Furlong’s school observed two minutes of silence in his memory.
Furlong’s friend, Joe Ritchie-Bennett, 39, was named by his family in Philadelphia as the second victim. The identity of the third victim has not yet been released.
The stabbing rampage took place on Saturday evening as groups of people relaxed in Forbury Gardens park in Reading, a town of 200,000 people some 64km (40 miles) west of London.
An unidentified 25-year-old local man, who is believed to be the only attacker, is in custody but officials said the motive for the carnage was unclear.
Chief Constable John Campbell of Thames Valley Police said officers were called to reports of stabbings and arrived to find a “horrific” scene.
The UK’s official “terrorism” threat level remains at “substantial” after the attack.