'Our family are heartbroken': Second Reading terror attack victim named as American living in UK

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails

Sign up to our free breaking news emails

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy

A second victim of the Reading stabbing attack is American citizen named locally as Joe Ritchie-Bennett.

He was a friend of James Furlong, the only other victim to have been named so far, according to tributes posted on social media.

Mr Ritchie-Bennett’s Facebook page lists him as originally from Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, but he had been living in Reading.

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

His brother, Robert Ritchie, told the newspaper the family had been left “heartbroken and beside ourselves” after hearing of his death.

US ambassador to the UK Woody Johnson confirmed an American citizen was killed in the Reading atrocity.

He said: “I offer my deepest condolences to the families of those killed in the attack on June 20.

”To our great sorrow, this includes an American citizen. Our thoughts are with all those affected.

"We condemn the attack absolutely and have offered our assistance to British law enforcement.''

Three people died and three others were seriously injured when a man with a knife attacked people in Forbury Gardens, Reading, on Saturday evening.

A 25-year-old Libyan man, named as Khairi Saadallah, was arrested under the Terrorism Act over the attack.

It emerged on Sunday that the suspect in the attack briefly came to the attention of MI5 last year but information provided did not meet the threshold for investigation.

Counter-terrorism officers are continuing to investigate the stabbings, with mental health understood to be considered as a major factor in the incident, but police have said they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the attack.

Boris Johnson said he was “appalled and sickened” by the incident and said he would “not hesitate to take action” if there were lessons to be learned from it.

Additional reporting by PA