Three people were killed and three seriously injured when an assailant went on a stabbing rampage in a park filled with people relaxing in the southern English city of Reading on Saturday, police said.
The Thames Valley Police said they had launched a murder investigation and were not treating the incident as terror-related after making one arrest at the scene.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the “appalling incident” and other leading politicians expressed sympathies for those hurt at the Forbury Gardens park in the historic center of the city of 220,000.
“This is not currently being treated as a terrorism incident, however officers are keeping an open mind as to the motivation for the incident and are being supported by colleagues from Counter Terrorism Policing South East,” the police said.
They confirmed the arrest of a 25-year-old man but made no reference to media reports suggesting he was Libyan.
“My thoughts are with all of those affected by the appalling incident in Reading and my thanks to the emergency services on the scene,” Johnson tweeted.
Home Secretary Priti Patel called it “a senseless attack on people enjoying a Saturday evening with friends.”
A Black Lives Matter protest took place at the park earlier but police said there was no indication the two incidents were connected.
“In terms of the protest and the people who attended from Black Lives Matter, we’re all safe,” the Reading BLM event organizer Nieema Hassan said on Facebook.
“None of us are affected. We had all left by the time this happened.”
Witnesses reported seeing two air ambulances and several police cars rush to the park on Saturday evening.
Police officers stand guard next to a protective box installed around the statue of Winston Churchill during a protest in London, Britain, on June 12, 2020. (Photo by Tim Ireland/Xinhua)
