Police worked to piece together details of a knife and van attack that killed two 19-year-old students and another man in the English city of Nottingham, as friends and family remembered the two younger victims as talented athletes with a passion for life.
Nottingham University students Barnaby Webber and Grace Kumar were stabbed to death in a street near student housing before dawn on Tuesday.
Police say a 31-year-old suspect also killed a man in his 60s more than 1.6km away, stole his van and ran down a group of pedestrians. Three people were hurt, one critically, in the hit-and-run.
The slain owner of the van was Ian Coates, a school caretaker. His employer said he was a “beloved and respected” staff member at a Nottingham primary school.
It is believed Ian Coates was making his way to work when he was flagged down and assaulted. He was dragged out of the vehicle and left lying on the pavement in his own blood before the suspect drove off in his van.
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) June 14, 2023
The school where Nottingham attack victim Ian Coates worked… pic.twitter.com/n20REnWDG5