Reading stabbing: Three people dead after terror attack in British city

Horrific scenes in which a man armed with a knife attacked people in a park close to London is now being investigated as a ‘terrorist incident’.

A murder investigation is underway after three people died and a further three were rushed to hospital after a mass stabbing in Reading, a large UK town located in Berkshire west of London.

Police have now declared it a “terrorist incident”.

A 25-year-old man has been arrested, with British broadcaster ITV News reporting he is Libyan.

Sky News UK have tweeted the man’s name is Khairi Saadallah.

In a statement, authorities confirmed counter-terrorism police are now taking over the investigation from local Thames Valley police.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Dean Haydon, UK counter terrorism policing network’s senior national co-ordinator, confirmed the stabbing incident is terror-related.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had earlier described it as an “appalling incident”.

Mr Johnson is being briefed on developments, with his office confirming he had met security officials, police and senior ministers on Sunday morning for an update on the investigation.

UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the government was “closely monitoring the situation.”

Social media showed images of stabbing victims being helped by police in the park in the UK town of Reading.

A still from a video that purports to show police working on one of the victims in Reading.

A distressing video shared on social media shows four people on the ground in a park, surrounded by witnesses and police officers.

In the footage, officers are seen giving CPR to the victims, who are covered in blood.

One person can be heard shouting, “He’s still breathing,” while another is asking for a defibrillator.

Three people were declared dead at the scene and three were transferred to the emergency department at Royal Berkshire Hospital.

Reading is a major commuter town around 70 kilometres west of London and near to Heathrow Airport. The incident occurred at around 7pm Saturday UK time in Forbury Gardens, a large park in the centre of the town.

The attack happened on a sunny Summer evening in Britain with many people in the park enjoying a partial lifting of coronavirus related lockdown restrictions.

The UK’s Mirror newspaper reported one eyewitness as saying he saw blood spurting and victims dropping "like a weight" as a man appeared to be "tapping them on the head" as they were sat in a circle.

A second witness told the paper that the park was full of people drinking with friends when the man approached one group.

“[He] suddenly shouted some unintelligible words and went round a large group – of around 10 – trying to stab them.

An air ambulance at Reading’s Forbury Gardens.

A police officer at a Reading apartment block following the incident.

Police entered a block of flats in Reading. British media said police were treating the attack as terrorism related. Picture: Steve Parsons/PA via AP.

"He stabbed three of them severely in the neck, and under the arms and then turned and started running towards me when we turned and started running,” he said.

"When he realised that he couldn’t catch us he tried to stab another group sat down."

Another person said: “A man pulled a knife and started attacking people at random”.

A police officer at the entrance to Forbury Gardens, where the attack occurred.

Police investigate near Forbury Gardens in the town centre of Reading, England, where they are responding to a "serious incident" Saturday, June 20, 2020. (Steve Parsons/PA via AP)

A police officer is said to have tackled a man to the ground during the attack. More footage from the scene shows a man on the floor with police surrounding him. It’s not known if he is the suspect.

Armed police officers attended an apartment block in Reading following the incident.

Detective Chief Superintendent Ian Hunter of Thames Valley Police, the force that covers Berkshire, said it was a “tragic incident” and a murder investigation had been launched.

“We have made one arrest and at this stage we are not looking for any other people in connection with this incident.

“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.

“This is not currently being treated as a terrorism incident, however officers are keeping an open mind as to the motivation for the incident,” he said.

A number of people sustained injuries and were taken to hospital.

A police cordon is in place in Forbury Gardens as officers investigate.

We are asking the public to avoid the area at this time.

— Thames Valley Police (@ThamesVP) June 20, 2020

My thoughts are with all of those affected by the appalling incident in Reading and my thanks to the emergency services on the scene.

— Boris Johnson #StayAlert (@BorisJohnson) June 20, 2020

Earlier on Saturday, a Black Lives Matter protest was held in the park but the rally and the attack are not connected, police confirmed.

“An horrific, dreadful incident,” policing minister Kit Malthouse tweeted. The main opposition Labour Party’s leader Sir Keir Starmer called the incident “very concerning”.

Britain has witnessed two terror-related attacks in the past year. A convicted jihadist who was out on parole after serving a sentence for terror offences was shot dead by police after stabbing five people — two fatally — by London Bridge in the heart of the British capital in November.

Police killed another assailant who injured three people in another London stabbing attack in February.

An overwhelming majority of Britain’s serious crimes are committed with knives and other stabbing weapons because of the country’s very strict gun ownership laws.

– with AFP.