Pictured: Ex-public schoolboy killed at random in Nottingham rampage
Pictured: Ex-public schoolboy and talented sportsman who was one of two university students, both 19, stabbed to death at random in Nottingham rampage – before killer ‘murdered man in his 50s’, stole his van and mowed down three ‘at bus stop’
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A 19-year-old university student who was killed at random ‘just five minutes from home’ in a knife and van rampage in Nottingham today has been pictured for the first time.
Barnaby Webber, who previously attended Taunton school, was one of three people to lose their lives in a horrific string of attacks in the city earlier on Tuesday.
The talented sportsman was killed as he walked home from a night out with a friend, fellow students said.
The cricketer and rugby player attended the £7,890-a-term school in his home town in Somerset, where family were gathering to comfort each other on Tuesday.
Police have arrested a 31-year-old man on suspicion of murder.
Barnaby Webber, a university student, was killed in the attacks early on Tuesday morning
Barnaby was walking home with a young woman, who was also stabbed to death at the scene
Barnaby’s grief-stricken father, David, 51, said only that it ‘wasn’t a good time’ when approached at the family home, before other relatives arrived with flowers.
It is believed Mr Webber, director of an IT consultancy, called one of his son’s flatmates in Nottingham to inform the fellow students of the tragedy.
Both Barnaby and the young woman killed alongside him were students at the University of Nottingham.
A female student from the same halls of residence said: ‘Barnaby was a friend of mine he was just walking home from a club like we all do they just got unlucky they were five Minutes from home and stabbed by some random guy.’
The Webber family live in a £550,000 four-bedroom home.
Barnaby had travelled home from Nottingham only last month to play cricket for a local club, Bishops Hull. He had also turned out for them in an indoor league.
Taunton School newsletters report he was a talented hockey player too.
The three victims killed are believed to have been randomly attacked and stabbed to death by a knifeman dressed in black and wearing a rucksack.
Counter terror police have raided two properties in Nottingham, with officers saying they are keeping an ‘open mind’ over the attacker’s motive.
One raid took place this afternoon around Ilkeston Road in a student area of the city, where a witness saw a young man and a young woman being stabbed at around 4am.
Police were called to the scene just after 4am to reports that a young man and woman had knife injuries and were ‘unresponsive’.
A student said the pair were ‘five minutes’ from home when they were ambushed. Another said of the male victim: ‘He was a friend of mine. He was just walking home from a club like we all do and got unlucky five minutes away from home.’
After the first attack, a third body was found on Magdala Street at around 5.30am, which was an unnamed man in his 50s, police have confirmed.
In a press conference on Monday evening, a spokesperson said the force’s current hypothesis is that the 31-year-old man killed the man in his 50s, before stealing his van and ramming into three other members of the public nearby.
Police were called to the final incident on Milton Street at around 5.30am on Tuesday, where a van ran into three people who are now being treated in hospital.
One man is in a critical condition, while two other people received minor injuries. They are believed to have been waiting for a bus at the time.
Nottinghamshire Police Chief Constable Kate Meynell, speaking outside a police station in the city, said: ‘Police were called to Ilkeston Road just after 4am after a member of the public reported that two people aged 19 had been stabbed and were unresponsive.
‘We had a further call to another incident in Milton Street, where the driver of a stolen van had attempted to run over three people. As a result, one man is in hospital in a critical condition while two others are believed to have suffered minor injuries.
‘The van was then stopped on Maple Street, where a man was tasered and detained by police officers on suspicion of murder. 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 that the suspect has stolen this man’s vehicle and driven it to Milton Street, where he is then driven at members of the public.
‘We are still in the early stages of the investigation. I need to determine exactly what the motives were behind this attack.’
Nottinghamshire Police said they are now working alongside counter-terror colleagues to ‘establish the facts’ and determine the motive for the attack. They do not believe anyone else was involved.
The talented sportsman was killed on his way home from a night out in the city
Counter terror police have raided two properties in Nottingham with cops saying they are keeping an ‘open mind’ over the motive for the attack
Forensic officers work at the scene of a white van following the attacks on Tuesday
Nottingham remains locked down following a terrifying sequence of events this morning
A specialist Counter Terrorist Specialist Firearms Officer on patrol on Ilkeston Road in Nottingham today
Suella Braverman said ‘we’re in a very early stage of the investigation’ into the deadly Nottingham attack when asked whether it could have been terror-related.
The Home Secretary told broadcasters in Westminster on Monday evening: ‘We need to allow the police the time and the space to carry out all of their operational activity to determine the motive.
‘It’s right that Nottinghamshire Police are working with Counter Terrorism Policing. But it’s also fair to say that everybody and all professionals on the front line are keeping an open mind as to what the precise motive might have been.’
Today, the University of Nottingham confirmed two of the dead were students and that a graduation ball scheduled for tonight would be cancelled.
‘It is with great sadness that we confirm the sudden and unexpected death of two of our students following a major incident in Nottingham city centre overnight,’ a spokesman said.
‘We are shocked and devastated by the news and our thoughts are with those affected, their families and friends.
‘We know this is likely to cause distress for staff and students in our community. Support is available through our support and wellbeing services for any of our community who may need it.’
The local council will hold a vigil tonight.
Chief Constable Kate Meynell, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: ‘This is a tragic series of events which has led to the lives of three innocent people being taken and left another member of the public in a critical condition in hospital.
‘My thoughts are with all the families affected by this shocking incident, and we will be working extremely hard to understand exactly what has happened.
‘We are at the early stages of the investigation and need to determine the motives behind these attacks and will keep the public updated as soon as we are able to say more.
‘We are keeping an open mind as we investigate the circumstances surrounding these incidents and are working alongside Counter Terrorism Policing to establish the facts – as we would normally do in these types of circumstances.
‘We do have a man in custody who has been arrested on suspicion of murder. Currently, we do not believe there is anyone else involved in this incident.
‘It is safe to go into the city centre but there are a number of streets that will remain closed including Ilkeston Road, Magdala Street, Milton Street and Maple Street. This is so officers can gather evidence in order to understand what has happened.’
Witness Lynn Haggitt described seeing a man in a white van at around 5.30am on Milton Street near the Theatre Royal. She said the man looked in his mirror and saw a police car behind him, before ‘quickening up’ and slamming into two people.
A house on Ilkeston Road is raided by police this afternoon
Police guarding the property after the raid
Officers are seen pinning a man down on a pavement in Nottingham today. Three people have been killed in the city, police said
Armed police on patrol in Nottingham city centre this afternoon
At 5.40am on Bentinck Road, witness Kane Brady told GB News he was woken by ‘what sounded like gunshots’ and saw a person tasered, dragged out of a van and arrested.
A 31-year-old man was arrested on Bentinck Road suspicion of murder and officers are linking the three deaths.
A man was also found dead on Magdala Road. Delivery driver Miklos Toldi, 37, and his wife Petra found the body as they headed to work in their car at around 5.30am. ‘The blood looked as if it was fresh,’ he said – adding that the victim had been stabbed and was ‘aged around 65’.
Mohammed Qasim and Nisar Ahmed, who work at Xclusive Hair Studio next door to one of the properties on Ilkeston Road that was raided today, said police also broke into the property last year.
Mr Qasim added: ‘A for sale sign has been up for about two-three months. We haven’t seen anyone since.’
What we know so far about how the attacks unfolded
4am – A witness describes seeing a male attacker stabbing a young man and a young woman on Ilkeston Road. Police later found two people dead.
5.30am – Delivery driver Miklos Toldi, 37, and his wife Petra find the body of a man in Magdala Road as they head to work in their car at around 5.30am.
5.30am – Witness Lynn Haggitt sees a man in a white van on Milton Street near the Theatre Royal. She said the man looked in his mirror and see a police car behind him, before ‘quickening up’ and slamming into two people.
5.40am – On Bentinck Road, witness Kane Brady wakes up to what sounded like gunshots’ and sees a person tasered, dragged out of a van and arrested. Police arrested a 31-year-old man on Bentinck Road, but have not yet said when.
Meanwhile, two female university students in another property that was raided on Ilkeston Road said officers repeatedly asked them if they knew a black man who lived at the address, the Telegraph reports.
Around 20 police officers – some armed with rifles – battered down the door and questioned Bella Crawshaw and her housemate Liv.
Miss Crawshaw, a 20-year-old computer sciences student, said she was asked by officers if she knew of a black man who lived at the address or if she ‘hung out with one’.
The women were later released.
Nottingham city centre remains locked down this afternoon, with dozens of squad cars, fire engines and ambulances on the scene.
Police have cordoned off around 400 yards of the scene at Ilkeston Road with tape, and what appeared to be medical kit was scattered across the road.
Two forensic officers arrived and appeared to dedicate the majority of their time at a bathroom and plumbing business called Willbond.
The area around a white Vauxhall Vivaro van in Bentinck Road has also been cordoned off.
The van has been left short distance from the pavement with its passenger door open and what looks like a black bag on the road near the door.
A witness told the BBC he saw a young man and young woman being stabbed on Ilkeston Road, close to the junction with Bright Street in Nottingham, at around 4am.
The man, who did not give his name, said he heard ‘awful, blood-curdling screams’ and looked out his window to see a ‘black guy dressed all in black with a hood and rucksack grappling with some people’.
He told the broadcaster: ‘She was screaming ‘Help!’ I just wish I’d shouted something out of the window to unnerve the assailant.
‘I saw him stab the lad first and then the woman. It was repeated stabbing – four or five times. The lad collapsed in the middle of the road.
‘The girl stumbled towards a house and didn’t move.
‘The next minute she had disappeared down the side of a house, and that’s where they found her.
‘I’d say it all happened within five or six minutes.
‘The attacker then just walked off up Ilkeston Road towards town, as calm as anything.’
The man said he called the police who arrived within five minutes, before paramedics tried to revive the pair for 40 minutes.
Witness Lynn Haggitt told Channel 4 News she saw a van hitting two people on Milton Street near the Theatre Royal at around 5.30am.
‘At half past five I saw a van pull up at the side of me,’ she said. ‘It was white, all white. There was a police car behind it coming up slowly, no flashing lights.
‘The man in the driver’s seat looked in his mirror and saw the police car behind him.’
A photo of a Vauxhall Vivaro van on Bentinck Road in Nottingham today. There are dents in the bonnet and cracks in the windscreen
A police forensic officer takes a photo of the scene on Magdala Road, where a man was found dead
A cordon surrounded the Vauxhall Vivaro van in Bentinck Road, Nottingham, today. A rucksack can be seen on the tarmac by the open door
The van has been left short distance from the pavement with its passenger door open and what looks like a black bag on the road near the door
Viewed from the other side of the cordon, the van in Bentinck Road has clear damage to its bonnet and windscreen. There are two dents on the bonnet, just above the radiator grille, and two sets of corresponding cracks radiating out from two points on the windscreen
She said the white van then drove up to ‘the corner of the street and went into two people’.
‘The lady ended up on the curb, and then he backed up the white van and he went, speeded up Parliament Street with the police cars following him,’ Ms Haggitt added.
When asked if she thought the collision was deliberate, Ms Haggitt said: ‘I don’t think I should say that, but to me he went straight into them, he didn’t even bother to turn, just went back straight into them.’
When asked if the people hit were hurt badly, she said that a man appeared to have a head injury.
‘They did get him to his feet,’ she added, but said of the woman who was hit: ‘She was sitting up on the curb, to me she looked OK’.
‘I was there for 15 minutes and there was no ambulance. One of the policemen, I think, did first aid. He looked after a man on the floor.’
Ms Haggitt told BBC News she spotted the van while she was on her way to work.
‘He looked in his mirror, saw a police car behind him, he then quickened up, there were two people, two in the corner, he went straight into these two people.’
‘The woman went on the kerb, the man went up in the air, there was such a bang, I wish I never saw it, it’s really shaken me up. I went over, perhaps I shouldn’t have gone over but I wanted to see if I could help.
‘He (the van driver) backed up after he hit… and drove up Parliament Street.
‘The woman was sitting up on the kerb, she looked OK. The man was laying down, but then he got up, sat on the side waiting for an ambulance. I can’t believe he was able to get up after the head wound.’
Officers were called to Ilkeston Road west of the city centre just after 4am. Two people were found dead in the street
A forensic tent on Magdala Road, Nottingham, where a man was found dead
Forensics officers were later seen erecting a larger tent on Magdala Road
Police forensics officers on Ilkeston Road this afternoon as investigations continued
Police forensics officers on Ilkeston Road, where they appeared to be analysing evidence left on the ground
The officers seen photographing evidence on a road in Nottingham city centre
A forensics officer placing items into a sealable bag in Nottingham today
Another witness told Sky News she saw a man and woman hit by a van.
Frances, whose surname was not given, was on her way to work and was near Theatre Royal in the city centre when she saw the vehicle hit the two pedestrians.
She said: ‘There was a male and a female. The female, she could speak.
‘She was in pain from the impact from hitting the ground. She had hit her head but was still able to speak.
‘Then the gentleman as well took the full brunt of the van and he had head injuries but was still awake.
‘He didn’t lose consciousness, he was still awake at that stage.’
A witness on Bentinck Road told GB News he heard what sounded like gunshots before seeing armed police arresting a man after pulling him from a white van at around 5.30am.
The man was wearing a hat and the witness, who did not want to be named, could not see his face.
Police cordoned off around 400 yards of the scene at Ilkeston Road with tape, and what appeared to be medical kit was scattered across the road
The forensic officers eventually left the scene on foot with a black crate and large plastic bag
‘We woke up this morning at about 5.30 in the morning to what sounded like gunshots and went to a window and there was armed police running out of what looked like an undercover car,’ the witness said.
‘And then the suspect, whoever’s in the van is then tasered and dragged out by them and then they arrested him.
‘We didn’t actually see any gunshots or anything but it certainly sounded like them with the glass all smashed in the van… I didn’t see the person who it was but I saw them arrested from behind.’
He added: ‘We saw a man pinned down on the ground and multiple armed police surrounding him and then more armed police later turned up after that.’
Student Demi Ojolow said: ‘I just saw the police shouting at him to get out of the car and get on the floor.
‘And they dragged him out of the car and he just fell on the floor. He was still pretty wrestling at the point.
‘They dragged him away and that was about it.’
Ms Ojolow said police were pointing some kind of weapons at the man but she was not sure whether it was a Taser or firearm.
She did not know if the man from the van was armed.
Asked what the police shouted, she said: ‘Get out of the car and get on the floor.’
Armed police in Nottingham city centre, which was locked down this morning
Police forensics officers on Magdala Road, Nottingham, where a man was found dead
Medical equipment lies within a police cordon on Ilkeston Road, where two people were found dead. A resident said police were ‘banging on my door’ at 5am asking for any CCTV footage
Another Bentinck Road resident, Dimitrious Lawani, said: ‘Two of them (police) were holding what seemed to me to be a Taser.
‘The other one seemed quite a bit bigger than a Taser. I’m not sure what that one was.’
Student Mr Lawani said he arrived at the scene just as the man was being pulled out of the van.
He said: ‘There’s two of them pulling him and two behind pointing at him – I think those were Tasers.’
Which roads in Nottingham are currently closed?
Ilkeston Road
Magdala Road,
Maples Street,
Woodborough Road from junction of Magdala Road into the city
Maid Marian Way junction of Parliament Street
Milton Street
He said they shouted: ‘Get down, get out, stop fighting.’
Delivery driver Miklos Toldi, 37, and his wife Petra found the body of the man in Magdala Road as they headed to work in their car at around 5.30am.
They live just 100 yards from where the body was found and stopped their car at the same time as another motorist.
Mr Toldi, a Hungarian national, said the victim had clearly been stabbed. He was aged around 65 with grey hair and black trousers.
‘I saw the body lying in the street,’ he said. ‘There was blood trailing down the road. The blood looked as if it was fresh.’
‘He was lying on his side, his mouth was open and there was no movement.’
Mr Toldi said it took the police only about two or three minutes to arrive at the scene following a 999 call.
Officers turned the man on to his back to start CPR and Mr Toldi said he saw what appeared to be several stab wounds in his chest. ‘His knuckles were also covered in blood,’ he said.
‘It was a big shock. I’m ok but I am worried about my wife.’
One resident overlooking Magdala Road said he was woken by the ‘sound of a woman’s screams.’
The man, who asked not to be named, said: ‘I was worried it was the sound of someone being attacked but thinking about it now it may have been the person who came across the body.’
He said he later saw police and a sheet, probably covering a body, on the road outside the tennis club.
Six roads are shut and tram services were cancelled as police locked down the entire city centre
National inter-agency liaison officers (NILO) on the scene in Nottingham city centre today
Magdala Road is in a leafy middle class area of Nottingham with large detached homes.
Chief Constable Kate Meynell said: ‘This is an horrific and tragic incident which has claimed the lives of three people.
‘We believe these three incidents are all linked and we have a man in custody.
‘This investigation is at its early stages and a team of detectives is working to establish exactly what has happened.
‘We ask the public to be patient while inquiries continue. At this time, a number of roads in the city will remain closed as this investigation progresses.’
Six roads around the city and suburbs have been shut and tram services cancelled, while ambulances, fire engines and specialist officers dressed in body armour and helmets are on the scene.
They are National inter-agency liaison officers (NILO) – part of an elite force set up in the wake of the Manchester Arena bombing.
Police have said road closures will remain in place for ‘some time’ and vowed to release more information when they can.
Local resident Glen Gretton said he was woken up at around 5am morning by the sounds of a series of police cars passing his home.
The 46-year-old delivery driver, who lives in a flat in Mansfield Road in Sherwood, said: ‘I heard a police car go past.
‘It was driving extremely quickly, followed by another one, another one.
‘They just kept coming so I knew something quite major … was happening somewhere around the city centre.’
Chief Constable Kate Meynell said: ‘This is an horrific and tragic incident which has claimed the lives of three people. Pictured are officers at the scene
Rishi Sunak said he is being kept updated on the ‘shocking incident’ in Nottingham as police investigate, and he paid tribute to those who have lost their lives and their families.
The Prime Minister tweeted: ‘I want to thank the police and emergency services for their ongoing response to the shocking incident in Nottingham this morning.
‘I am being kept updated on developments. The police must be given the time to undertake their work.
‘My thoughts are with those injured, and the family and loved ones of those who have lost their lives.’
French president Emmanuel Macron tweeted: ‘Our thoughts go to the victims of the tragic events in Nottingham, the injured, the families.
‘We share the grief of our British friends and stand by their side.’
Home Secretary Suella Braverman said she is ‘shocked and saddened’ at the deaths in Nottingham and has spoken with the Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire Police.
She tweeted: ‘I am shocked & saddened that three people have lost their lives today in Nottingham. My thoughts are with those affected by this incident.
‘I have spoken to @nottspolice Chief Constable & am receiving regular updates. I am thankful to the emergency services for their response.’
The A6008 Upper Parliament Street is currently closed from the junction with Maid Marian Way, towards the Theatre Royal.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was being kept ‘updated’ on any developments
Ben Bradley, the leader of Nottingham city council, said his ‘thoughts’ were with everyone in the city
Robert Jenrick, a Home Office minister and the Conservative Member of Parliament for Newark, Nottinghamshire, shared his shock today
The A60 Mansfield Road is also closed between Woodborough Road, towards Mapperley and St Ann’s, and Shakespeare Street, near the Victoria Centre.
Milton Street, the street parallel to the main entrance to the shopping centre, and Burton Street are also closed in the city centre.
All tram services have been suspended, due to what has been described as a ‘major police incident, with tram tickets being accepted on buses.
Maples Street in Hyson Green is also shut, while the A609 Ilkeston Road is also closed in both directions, with slow traffic due to a police incident from Faraday Road to Bright Street. Magdala Road near Mapperley Park is also closed.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said his thoughts were with the family and friends of those who had died and were injured in Nottingham.
He tweeted: ‘Awful news from Nottingham this morning. My thoughts are with the family and friends of those who have lost their lives, those injured, and the people of Nottingham.
‘Thank you to the police and the emergency services as they respond to this terrible incident.’
Officers guarding the cordon in Nottingham city centre this morning
National inter-agency liaison officers (NILO) on the scene in Nottingham
Robert Jenrick, a Home Office minister and the Conservative Member of Parliament for Newark, Nottinghamshire, tweeted: ‘I’m deeply grateful to @nottspolice and all those who responded to the terrible attack earlier today in Nottingham.
‘All of us in Nottinghamshire share a sense of shock. My thoughts and prayers are with those injured and with the family and friends of those killed.’
Nottingham’s three Labour MPs, Nadia Whittome, Lilian Greenwood and Alex Norris, said they were ‘shaken’ by the events in the city.
A joint statement posted on Twitter by Ms Whittome said: ‘Our city has been devastated by the deaths of three people this morning.
‘Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of those who have died and those injured.
‘We are grateful for the efforts of the city’s emergency responders in tackling these incidents. They must be allowed to do their jobs in investigating them.
‘Nottingham is a beautiful city, home to brilliant people from all backgrounds.
‘We are shaken by today’s events but will meet them collectively as a community and heal together.’
Nottinghamshire Police said: ‘We ask the public to be patient while inquiries continue. At this time, a number of roads in the city will remain closed as this investigation progresses’
Nottingham Forest Football Club also reacted to the incident, saying on Twitter: ‘We are devastated to learn the news of the horrific events that took place in Nottingham this morning.
‘The thoughts of everyone at #NFFC are with the friends and families of those who have tragically lost their lives and to everyone affected by this incident.’
Police have asked witnesses, or anyone concerned about a family member or friend, to call 0800 0961011.
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