Nottingham: Suspect Believed to Have Killed Man and Stolen His Van For Attack, Say Police

Police say they believe a man used a knife to kill the driver of a van in order to steal his vehicle to drive into members of the public, as the investigation into Tuesday’s attack and its motivations continue.

Three people were killed and a further three injured, one critically, in the early hours of Tuesday morning in a series of related attacks across Nottingham city centre using a knife and a white panel van as weapons. Two of those killed have been identified as students of the city’s Nottingham University, and the third has now been identified as the driver of a van who police say they believe was killed for his vehicle.

One victim has now been named, 19-year-old student Barnaby Webber, a former student of the prestigious Taunton private school in Somerset. Webber was described in reports as a talented sportsman who played cricket, hockey, and rugby.

While the murder of a truck driver in order to acquire a vehicle for an attack on pedestrians has been observed as a terror method in Europe before, police have been very clear in saying that while they are cooperating with counterterror police in their investigation, no motive has yet been found. The UK Home Secretary, or interior minister, has buttressed this position, saying the investigation is still in its early stages and that “We need to allow the police the time and the space to carry out all of their operational activity to determine the motive.”

UK broadcaster GN News reports, citing their own “credible sources” that the arrested suspect is a 31-year-old “West African migrant with a history of violence”, although Police have not yet made any formal identification or released such details. As already reported, eyewitnesses speaking to several UK broadcasters earlier in the day spoke of a “black” man “dressed all in black” being arrested, however.

Police have said they have arrested one man, and that they are not seeking any other suspects in relation to the attack. Properties have been raided in Nottingham in relation to the attack.

The Daily Telegraph reports students claiming they had been interrogated by police, with two female undergraduates who were caught up in a property search saying they had been asked by officers ” if she knew of a black man who lived at the address or if she “hung out with one”… They shouted ‘police’ and then they kicked in the door… the lock is smashed. They kept asking if we knew of a black male who lived at the property.”

Giving an update on the situation, the chief constable of Nottinghamshire Kate Meynell said at a press conference outside her force headquarters in the city on Tuesday evening:

…a man in his 50s was also found dead from knife injuries in Magdala road by a member of the public. At the moment we believe the suspect has stolen this man’s vehicle and driven it to Milton Street where he has driven at members of the public. We are still in the early stages of the investigation and need to determine what the motives were behind this attack. We are keeping an open mind and are working closely with counterterrorism policing to establish the facts, as we would normally do in this type of circumstance.

Vigils for the victims of the attack have taken place today, with fellow students from the University laying flowers in a city-centre church. Among the items laid down was a University of Nottingham Cricket Club tie and colours cap. The university’s graduation ball tonight has been cancelled.