Morning of horror: How the Nottingham attacks broke out as students and man killed and three others injured in rampage

14 June 2023, 07:37 | Updated: 14 June 2023, 10:56

Three people have been killed, including two young university students, and three more injured after a knife and van rampage in Nottingham.

Students Barnaby Webber and Grace Kumar, both 19, were stabbed to death near their home in Ilkeston Road before a man in his 50s was found with knife wounds in Magdala Road early on Tuesday.

A stolen Vauxhall Vivaro was then driven into three people in the city centre. One is in a critical condition in hospital while the other two escaped with minor injuries.

The van was later stopped and police arrested a man, 31, on suspicion of murder.

Here is how a morning of horror that shocked the country unfolded.

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4am - Students stabbed to death

Barnaby Webber and Grace Kumar are attacked in Ilkeston Road just yards from home.

The Nottingham University students, who had apparently met over a love of hockey, were heading back from a night at Pryzm nightclub.

A witness told the BBC he heard "awful, blood-curdling screams".

He said he saw a "black guy dressed all in black with a hood and rucksack grappling with some people".

The unnamed witness added: "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.

Read more: Nottingham attack suspect 'is West African man, 31, who has legally lived in UK for years' as cops probe mental health

"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."

Nottingham major incident: Full police statement

5am - Police ask for CCTV as third victim found dead

Officers begin asking Ilkeston Road residents for any CCTV footage they have as they investigate the killings.

Just under two miles north east, police find the third victim, a man in his 50s.

He has been stabbed to death and police believe the suspect stole his van.

5.30am - Van driven into three people

The Vauxhall Vivaro is ploughed into three people in Milton Street in the city centre.

A man is in a critical condition while the other two escaped with minor injuries.

Witness Lynn Haggitt said: Lynn Haggitt said: "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.

She added: "I can't believe he was able to get up after the head wound."

After 5.30am

Is is believed police are now hunting down the van as it went north, away from the city centre.

The van stopped at the corner of Maples Street and Bentnick Road, about a mile away.

Armed police then Tasered a man as witnesses said they saw him get dragged out.

He was arrested on suspicion of murder.

One student reported hearing a shot.

The suspect is understood to be West African, a 31-year-old man who has been legally living in the UK for years.

Police, who have not declared the attacks to be a terrorism incident, will examine his mental health.

Read more: Teenage hockey star named as second student, 19, killed in Nottingham van and knife rampage

7am - Police confirm incident and road closures

Nottinghamshire Police says a "serious incident" has forced officers to cordon off roads.

9.37am - Officers reveal what happened

Police confirm three people have been killed and a man has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

The statement says the attacks are linked and that three people are in hospital.

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."

5pm - Vigil held for victims

Hundreds attend a vigil for the victims of the attacks at St Peter's Church, in the centre of Nottingham.

Many of those who go are of university age.

Visitors were crying as they paid their respects with candles.

6pm - Victims' details emerge

Police say two 19-year-olds and a man in his 50s were killed and their families have been told about the tragedy.

Over the evening, it emerges the teenagers are Nottingham University students Barnaby Webber and Grace Kumar.

They had bonded over a love of hockey, it is claimed, and were on their way back from Pryzm nightclub.

Barnaby's grandfather Phil Robson says his parents are "in bits". He played for a cricket club in Taunton.

Grace is said to have been a talented hockey player who played for Southgate in London and England at her age level.

Her parents were too upset to speak to the press.