2020 Reading Stabbings
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On the evening of 20 June 2020, a man with a knife attacked people who were socialising in Forbury Gardens in
Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, England, and the county town of Berkshire. It is the United Kingdom's largest town, with a combined population of 355,596. Most of Reading built-up area, its built-up area lies within the Borough ...
. Three men died from their wounds, and three other people were seriously injured. Khairi Saadallah, a 25-year-old
Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
n male refugee, was arrested shortly afterwards. He pleaded guilty of three counts of
murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
and three counts of
attempted murder Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seve ...
, and in January 2021 was sentenced to a whole-life term. The inquest, which concluded in April 2024, found that the attacks were avoidable.


Attack

Shortly before 19:00 BST on 20 June 2020, Khairi Saadallah attacked two groups of people socialising in Forbury Gardens, a public park in the centre of
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
, about west of London. Using an kitchen knife, Saadallah stabbed people in the eye, neck, head and back. A witness said the stabbing was "completely random". At 18:56, officers from Thames Valley Police went to the park, responding to reports of a stabbing with multiple casualties. Saadallah was chased, tackled and pinned to the ground by police officers on Friar Street – near its junction with the Inner Distribution Road – approximately five minutes after the first 999 call was made. He was arrested on suspicion of murder, and re-arrested while in custody under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000.


Attacker

The perpetrator was 25-year-old Khairi Saadallah. He was born in Libya and is from an affluent middle-class family. In 2018, he was given permission to stay in the United Kingdom after claiming asylum in 2012. A family member said he had post-traumatic stress from the
civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
and had come to the United Kingdom from Libya in 2012 to escape from violence there, living first in
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
. In the war, it was claimed that he was part of Ansar al-Sharia, a group now proscribed in the UK, and stated falsely in his asylum application that he was not involved in combat. In 2018, he was given five years' permission to stay in the UK. Saadallah was convicted six times for 15 crimes between 2015 and 2019, of which eight were violent crimes, two involved possession of a knife and two involved racially or religiously aggravated harassment. He was said to have smoked cannabis and had regular visits from a mental health professional. A security source told
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
that the suspect had come to the attention of Britain's domestic security agency
MI5 MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), officially the Security Service, is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Gov ...
in 2019 over intelligence that he aspired to travel for extremist purposes, and he had been investigated over
jihadist Jihadism is a neologism for modern, armed militant Political aspects of Islam, Islamic movements that seek to Islamic state, establish states based on Islamic principles. In a narrower sense, it refers to the belief that armed confrontation ...
concerns. In 2017, prison staff noted that he was spending a lot of time with Abu Izzadeen of the proscribed group
Al-Muhajiroun Al-Muhajiroun (, "The Emigrants") is a Proscription, proscribed terrorist network based in Saudi Arabia and active for many years in the United Kingdom. The group was founded by Omar Bakri Muhammad, a Syrian who previously belonged to ''Hizb ut- ...
. He had been released from prison 17 days before the attack, having been sentenced for
assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...
and possessing a bladed article: the UK was unable to deport him because it would have breached his human rights to send him back to Libya. Saadallah yelled " Allahu akbar" during the attack, and a Muslim bystander heard him say "God accept my ''
jihad ''Jihad'' (; ) is an Arabic word that means "exerting", "striving", or "struggling", particularly with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it encompasses almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God in Islam, God ...
'' in Arabic. After his arrest, Saadallah told police that " ewas going to paradise for the ''jihad'' what edid to the victims". Police later found images of the World Trade Center and
Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...
flag on his phone, alongside videos about Jihadi John, an ISIS terrorist. Saadallah also had a crucifix tattoo, had prayed in church and told police that he was both Muslim and Catholic; his defence lawyer argued that this indicated that he did not have a serious devotion to radical Islam. ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' reported that sources said that Saadallah was initially believed by the intelligence agencies to have mental health problems.
Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel, live stream news network and news organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of ...
additionally reported that he lived in a flat in Reading. It was later confirmed that Saadallah faked a mental illness, and was acting in pursuit of his extremist ideology.


Casualties

The attack resulted in three fatalities at the scene, as well as three seriously injured with knife wounds to their head, face, hand, and back. The Thames Valley Air Ambulance, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance and London's Air Ambulance were deployed to the scene, and South Central Ambulance Service deployed their Hazardous Area Response Team. Of the injured people, two were admitted to the Royal Berkshire Hospital's
emergency department An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the Acute (medicine), ...
, in Reading. One other injured person was taken to the
John Radcliffe Hospital John Radcliffe Hospital (informally known as the JR or the John Radcliffe) is a large tertiary teaching hospital in Oxford, England. It forms part of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and is named after John Radcliffe (physician) ...
in
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
, but was discharged without being admitted. One of the injured was a friend of the three fatalities. The three men who were killed were friends and members of the local LGBT+ community. Post-mortem examinations showed that they each died of a single stab wound; two were stabbed in the neck, and one in the back.


Investigation and trial

Initial police statements from Thames Valley Police on the evening of the incident said that the incident was "not currently being treated as a terrorism incident" and that they were "keeping an open mind as to the motivation", although counter terrorism officers were deployed. The next morning, Counter-Terrorism Policing South East stated that the attacks were "a terror incident". It took over command of the incident from the local police, with support from MI5. On 22 June, police were granted a warrant to further detain Saadallah until 27 June. Immediately after the stabbings, Forbury Gardens and the surrounding roads were closed to facilitate the police investigation. The roads re-opened on 1 July, whilst the gardens finally reopened on 10 July. On 27 June, Saadallah was charged with three counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder. On 29 June, he appeared by video link at Westminster Magistrates' Court charged with three counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder. The prosecutor said the accused was heard shouting words to the effect of "Allahu akbar". He was remanded in custody to appear at the
Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...
. After appearing at the Old Bailey by video link from Belmarsh Prison, London, for preliminary hearings on 1 and 10 July, the judge set 30 November as a provisional date for a full trial. On 11 November, Saadallah admitted three charges of murder and three of attempted murder. On 11 January 2021, he was given a whole-life term. The sentencing judge said that it was a terrorist attack and that the purpose was to advance an extremist Islamic cause. In October 2021 Saadallah was refused leave to appeal the sentence.


Inquest

The
inquest An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a cor ...
, which concluded in April 2024, found that the murders were avoidable; Saadallah had extensive contact with mental health services and police, but intelligence sharing between authorities (including counter-terrorist police officers, other police forces, and the
probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offence (law), offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incar ...
service, and Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust) led to "significantly troubling failings" in highlighting him as a high risk. Judge Coroner Adrian Fulford, chairing the inquest, concluded that if Saadallah's mental health had been correctly managed, there was a possibility that the attacks would not have happened.


Reactions

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...
expressed his condolences and thanked emergency services for responding to the scene. On the morning after the stabbings, Johnson met with senior ministers, police, and security officials at
10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London is the official residence and office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister of the United Kingdom. Colloquially known as Number 10, the building is located in Downing Street, off Whitehall in th ...
to be briefed on the events.
Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...
Priti Patel and Labour Party Leader
Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and lawyer who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2024 and as Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He previously ...
both expressed concern over the incident. Jason Brock, the leader of Reading Borough Council, said he was "shocked and appalled" by the "horrific and senseless attack", expressed his condolences, and thanked the emergency services for their response. The council issued a statement saying that their "thoughts and prayers are with the families of the three people who lost their lives, and for those who remain seriously injured", and announcing that their flag would fly at half mast for the day. After Saadallah's conviction, the father of James Furlong, one of the victims, said that "there are now serious questions that need answering", in reference to how Saadallah avoided deportation despite his previous violent offences.


Memorial

Following the reopening of the gardens on 10 July, flowers originally laid by the public in the town were moved to surround the gardens' bandstand. A stone memorial, forming part of the podium of the bandstand, was unveiled on 20 June 2023 during a service marking the third anniversary of the attack.


See also

* 2017 London Bridge attack * 2017 Westminster attack * 2019 London Bridge stabbing * 2020 Streatham stabbing * Glasgow hotel stabbings * List of prisoners with whole-life orders


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reading 2020 in England 2020s in Berkshire 21st century in Reading, Berkshire Attacks in the United Kingdom in 2020 Islamic terrorism in the United Kingdom Islamic terrorist incidents in 2020 June 2020 crimes in Europe June 2020 in the United Kingdom Mass stabbings in the United Kingdom Murder in Berkshire Stabbing attacks in 2020 Stabbing attacks in England Terrorist incidents in the United Kingdom in 2020 Terrorist incidents involving knife attacks in Europe Violence against LGBTQ people in the United Kingdom