Nottingham attack – latest: Man charged with murder after brutal knife attack

Suella Braverman visited Nottingham to pay her respects to two students and a school caretaker who were killed in a deadly knife and van rampage in the city.

The home secretary joined Nottinghamshire’s Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner, Caroline Henry, to add her own floral tribute to the collection outside Nottingham’s Council House on Thursday 15 June.

She wrote a personal message to the victims’ families, saying: “We are with you.”

Two 19-year-old University of Nottingham students, Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber, and Ian Coates, 65, were fatally stabbed in Tuesday’s attack.

The leader of Redbridge Council has said the borough “has lost one of our own”.

Mr Jas Athwal tweeted: “There are no words that can do justice to the unthinkable events in Nottingham and the sheer weight of the loss three families are now experiencing.

“Redbridge has lost one of our own and my prayers are with Graces family at this unimaginably terrible time.”

The suspect in the Nottingham knife and van attacks is a former student of the University of Nottingham, the institution said in a statement.

The suspect allegedly killed three people in a brutal knife attack and then ran over three others with a stolen van.

According to multiple reports, the suspect was born in Guinea-Bissau, a country on West Africa’s coast.

He was arrested on Tuesday, following a 90-minute rampage in the early hours when two 19-year-old university students and a 65-year-old man were killed.

The victims were Barnaby Webber and Grace Kumar, both 19 and Ian Coates, a primary school caretaker, who was found dead near Mapperley Park.

Nottingham came together yesterday to honour the victims of Tuesday’s horrific attack.

Detectives have been given until the early hours of Saturday morning to quiz a triple murder suspect following a deadly knife and van rampage in Nottingham.

Nottinghamshire Police confirmed they sought further time to question a 31-year-old man on suspicion of murder after he was tasered and arrested on Tuesday morning.

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust said two patients are now stable and one has been discharged following van attacks on Tuesday morning.

The suspect attempted to run over three people standing at a bus stop in Nottingham.

No official confirmation has been given, but former University of Nottingham student Valdo Calocane is widely reported to be the suspect.

Nottinghamshire Police said Valdo Calocane, 31, has been charged with three counts of murder over the deaths of students Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both aged 19, and Ian Coates, 65, who were all fatally stabbed on Tuesday.

Calocane, of no fixed address, is also charged with three counts of attempted murder, the force said, in connection to three people who were struck by a van later the same day.

Chief Constable Kate Meynell, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “These charges are a significant development and arise as a result of our thorough investigation into these horrific incidents that occurred in our city.

“Our thoughts remain with the families and friends of all those affected by these attacks, and we will continue to provide support and reassurance.”

Family and friends of Nottingham murder victim, Barnaby Webber, visited the scene of the attack on Friday.

In a statement, his family, from Taunton, Somerset said: “We chose to come to this dreadful space because we owe it to both Barnaby and Grace to let them know we are here.

“As has been expressed by so many already, heartbreak cannot begin to describe our loss.

“As painful as this tribute today has been, it is yet another step forward on the very long dark journey we have been forced to take.

“We would like to thank all at Nottingham University and the police for their professionalism, diligence, respect and care they have shown during this time.”

A man has been arrested on a triple murder charge after a deadly knife rampage that left three dead in Nottingham city centre.

Valdo Calocane, 31, of no fixed address, was tasered and arrested after allegedly knifing 19-year-old students Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar on Ilkeston Road, before stabbing a school caretaker Ian Coates, 65, on Magdala Road and stealing his van, in the early hours of Tuesday.

Police believe that vehicle was later used to hit and seriously injure three other victims on Milton Street, near the city’s Theatre Royal.

Holly Evans reports:

A marked police car had sight of a van for “less than a minute” before it hit pedestrians during the Nottingham attacks.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said the driver of the single-crewed vehicle immediately stopped to give first aid after two people were struck in South Sherwood Street on Tuesday morning.

Valdo Calocane, 31, has been charged with three counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder after an alleged knife and van rampage in the city.

An IOPC spokesman said the watchdog will be contacting the two pedestrians hurt in the van collision to tell them of their decision to investigate the incident.

The police car was on its way to a related incident when the driver came across the van - with dashcam footage suggesting the officer had sight of it for less than a minute.

In a statement, the IOPC spokesman said: “We have now assessed a referral from Nottinghamshire Police, received on Wednesday, that informed us that a marked police car had been following behind the suspect’s van for a short distance at the time it collided with two pedestrians in Nottingham on Tuesday morning causing injuries.

“Police forces are required to refer to the IOPC incidents where police involvement may have contributed to people sustaining significant injuries.

“We have viewed dashcam footage from the police car and can confirm the officer, in a single-crewed vehicle en route to a linked incident, had sight of the van for less than a minute before the collision in the South Sherwood Street area.

“The officer immediately stopped to provide first aid.

“We will be contacting the two people injured in the collision to wish them a speedy recovery and advise them that we have decided to investigate this specific police interaction.

“Our investigation will consider whether the actions of the van driver were influenced by the police car’s presence shortly before he collided with the two pedestrians.

“Our thoughts remain with all those affected by Tuesday’s tragic events.”