‘Dark day for Nottingham’: three killed in van and knife attack

Three people have been killed and three more injured after a series of attacks in Nottingham on Tuesday morning, which police believe are linked.

Two students of the University of Nottingham were fatally stabbed on Ilkeston Road, just after 4am. Grace Kumar and Barnaby Webber, both 19, were reportedly on their way home from a night out, according to the Nottingham Post.

A witness told BBC News he heard “awful, blood-curdling screams” from his window overlooking the road. “It was repeated stabbing – four or five times,” he said.

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About a mile away on Milton Street, in the city centre, a man then attempted to run three people over with his van. Two are believed to have minor injuries and one is still in a critical condition. A witness told Sky News that they were pedestrians.

A member of the public found a man in his 50s on Magdala Road, abut a mile to the north, dead from knife injuries.

“We believe that the suspect has stolen this man’s vehicle and driven it to Milton Street, where he has then driven at members of the public,” said Nottinghamshire Police Chief Constable Kate Meynell. “The van was then stopped on Maple Street where a man was tasered by police and taken into custody.”

A 31-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder. Officers do not believe there are any other suspects, and are still investigating the motive. Counter-terrorism policing is assisting Nottinghamshire police, and the families of the victims are being helped by specially trained officers, according to the Nottingham Post.

It was “one of the darkest days in Nottingham’s history”, said the Nottingham Post, adding that “the city is heartbroken”.

“I have never heard of anything like it,” Tony Shannon, who lives near Ilkeston Road, told the paper. “I didn’t think this would happen in Nottingham.” Another local said that the area is quiet, respectable and has “a good reputation”.

“As the dust began to settle on a horrific day…there was an acknowledgement that such loss is sadly all too common across the country,” said the local newspaper.