Two university students among three dead in British killing spree

A student and keen cricketer is the first of three people to be identified after a stabbing spree through a British city in the early hours.

Barnaby Webber, 19, named as one of three stabbed to death by attacker, 31, as terror cops probe van and knife rampage

A 19-year-old cricket fan and university student is the first of three people victims to be named after a stabbing rampage in the British city of Nottingham.

Three others were injured after a van attack in the CBD, thought to be linked to the stabbings. All the incidents took place in the early hours of the morning on Tuesday.

Barnaby Webber, 19, has been named as one of two Nottingham University students who were returning from Pryzm nightclub when they were stabbed to death near a bus stop.

A female companion of Mr Webber is also thought to have died.

A third person, a man in his fifties, was also stabbed to death in another suburb of the city in England’s east midlands.

Barnaby Webber, 19, was a student in the city. Picture: The Sun.

He was also a keen sportsman.

Police have arrested a 31-year-old man on suspicion of murder and counter-terror police have raided two homes.

“They just got unlucky. They were five minutes from home and got stabbed by a random guy,” one student told the media.

Mr Webber was identified as a victim by his grandfather Phil Robson, reported The Sun.

“It’s tragic. We can’t say anything at the moment. Everyone knows the family locally,” Mr Robson said.

Mr Weber was a first year student who played cricket for the university, a friend said.

“Barnaby’s parents are in bits. They are with officers from Nottinghamshire Police as we speak and we’ve been told not to make any comment until we know more,” he said.

Police forensics officers search through bins outside a shop on Ilkeston Road in Nottingham, central England, following a 'major incident' in which three people were found dead. (Photo by Darren Staples / AFP)

Two of the people who died are believed to have attended Nottingham University. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Police said they were keeping an “open mind” in regards to motive for the attack.

Nottingham’s centre was cordoned off for much of the day on Tuesday, with a heavy police presence, including some armed officers following the series of events that left residents shaken.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak thanked emergency services who had dealt with the “shocking incident”.

“My thoughts are with those injured, and the family and loved ones of those who have lost their lives,” he added.

Police have cordoned six roads and are asking the public to avoid the area. Picture: Twitter

Three people have been killed and another three are in hospital following the ‘major incident’. Picture: Twitter

Police were called just after Tuesday 4am UK time (1pm AEST) after two people were found dead in Ilkeston Road, which runs west out of the city centre.

The body of a man was also found around 1.6km away on Magdala Road, north of the city.

The three people hit by the van, in Milton Street, in the city centre, were being treated in hospital, a police statement added.

Witness Lynn Haggitt said she saw a van hit two people at around 5.30am near the city’s Theatre Royal after the vehicle pulled up beside her on her way to work.

“He looked in his mirror, saw a police car behind him, he then quickened up, there were two people … he went straight into these two people,” she told BBC news.

Another man, Glen Gretton, said he was woken up at around 5am by the sound of a series of police cars passing his home.

“I heard a police car go past. It was driving extremely quickly, followed by another one, another one, the 46-year-old delivery driver said.

“They just kept coming so I knew something quite major … was happening somewhere around the city centre,” he said.

Forensic police investigate a van parked in an area of Bentinck Rd. Picture: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Elite paramedics were at the scene this morning. Picture: Twitter

This is the scene on Milton street in #Nottingham.

It’s one of 6 other road closures in the ongoing city centre.

Officers say the roads are taped of as part of a “serious police incident”.

We’ll bring you more as we get it. pic.twitter.com/01tyUuKSgj

— Gem News (@GemRadioNews) June 13, 2023

“This is an horrific and tragic incident which has claimed the lives of three people,” said Nottinghamshire Police Chief Constable Kate Meynell.

“We believe these three incidents are all linked and we have a man in custody,” she added.

The city’s tram network was suspended while the investigation took place.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said she was “shocked and saddened” by the deaths.

The city’s three members of parliament — Nadia Whittome, Lilian Greenwood and Alex Norris — said they were “shaken” by the events and expressed their condolences to the families of the dead and injured.

“Our city has been devastated by the deaths of three people this morning. Nottingham is a beautiful city, home to brilliant people from all backgrounds.

“We are shaken by today’s events but will meet them collectively as a community and heal together,” they said in a joint statement on Twitter.