American among victims in Reading park terror attack

LONDON: An American man was one of three people stabbed to death in a suspected terrorist attack in a Reading park.

A friend said Joe Ritchie-Bennett, originally from Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, and history teacher James Furlong, 36, who also died in Saturday’s attack, were “great supporters” of the LGBT+ community.

“Their loss is a tragedy to so many people,” Martin Cooper, 36, who is chief executive of LGBT+ charity Reading Pride, told the PA news agency.“They will be sorely missed by myself personally and many in the community.”

The 25-year-old suspect is understood to be Khairi Saadallah, a refugee of the civil war in Libya who briefly came to the attention of MI5 last year.Saadallah, who is thought to have been released from prison earlier this month, was detained close to the scene at Forbury Gardens on Saturday night and arrested on suspicion of murder.

He was later re-arrested under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act, which gives powers to hold him without charge for up to 14 days. Police have said they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the attack.

A two-minute silence was held at the Holt School in Wokingham on Monday morning in memory of Furlong. More than 100 students, some holding hands, gathered at the school’s gates as a bell rang out to mark the start of the silence, while a flag in the school’s courtyard had been lowered to half-mast.

Former pupil Molly Collins, who left the school in 2017, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “He was such a loved teacher. I can’t find anyone that ever had a bad word to say about him, and to hear that it was him is just so, so sad.”

The Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper reported that Mr Ritchie-Bennett was 39 and had moved to England from the US around 15 years ago.

His brother, Robert Ritchie, a captain in the Philadelphia police force, told the paper: “We used to play together every day. We rode bikes together every day. Our family is heartbroken and beside ourselves. He did not deserve to go out like this.” Ritchie-Bennett’s father, also called Robert, said: “I absolutely love my son with all of my heart and all of my soul.”

Two people injured in the attack remain in hospital, while one has now been discharged. PA understands from security sources that MI5 had received intelligence that Saadallah planned to travel abroad, possibly for terrorism purposes, but the threat was found to be insubstantial and the information provided did not meet the threshold of investigation.

The Prime Minister has promised that the Government “will not hesitate” to act if there are changes that could be made to legislation in the wake of Saturday’s events. Johnson’s official spokesman said the PM took part in the minute’s silence for the victims at 10am and continues to receive “regular updates from security officials”. The Number 10 spokesman added: “The Prime Minister has said that if there are any lessons to be learned or any changes to be made to stop such events from happening again, we will not hesitate to take that action, as we have before.”

Security Minister James Brokenshire told BBC Breakfast that 25 attempted terrorist attacks had been prevented over the last three years and there was no indication of a change to the UK’s threat level. As counter-terror officers investigate, mental health is understood to be considered a major factor in the Reading attack.

The suspect was jailed in October for a string of non-terror offences before his sentence was reduced at the Court of Appeal to a term of 17 months and 20 days. One of the appeal judges who gave the judgment in March, Mr Justice Goss, noted Saadallah’s various mental health issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder and personality disorder, in reducing the sentence.

The offences included affray, assault by beating, assaulting an emergency worker, criminal damage, having a bladed article and a racially aggravated assault involving a police officer.

Saadallah was released from prison earlier this month, it is understood, and the Covid-19 pandemic played no part in the decision to free him.

Speaking at the scene in Reading, Home Secretary Priti Patel said it was important to “learn the lessons” from the attack. She said: “We’ve seen three people die, so there is extensive work that’s taking place, yes, with the police but obviously now with CT (counter-terrorism) police as well, and the intelligence community and all aspects of policing.

“We’ve got a lot of information to gather, we have to look at all aspects as to what happened on Saturday, the individual that’s in custody as well, to ensure that, yes, justice is served.”