Tributes pour in for students killed in Nottingham knife and van rampage
Tributes have been paid to the two sporting students stabbed to death in a knife and van rampage across Nottingham.
Barnaby Webber and his friend Grace Kumar, both 19, were murdered just five minutes from their digs as they returned home from an end of term party.
The 4am quiet was shattered by ‘blood-curdling’ screams as the black-clad attacker knifed them both in Ilkeston Road.
He then killed a 54-year-old van driver in Magdala Road before getting behind the wheel of the vehicle and using it to try and mow down three other people – leaving one man critically injured.
Police launched a ‘major incident’, with several roads across the town centre locked down, as the horror unfolded.
Barnaby’s heartbroken family – parents David and Emma Webber, and younger brother Charlie – have described their ‘complete devastation’ at the ‘senseless murder of our son’, saying he was a ‘beautiful, brilliant, bright young man, with everything in life to look forward to’.
They added in a statement: ‘At 19 he was just at the start of his journey into adulthood and was developing into a wonderful young man.
‘As parents we are enormously proud of everything he achieved and all the plans he had made.
‘His brother is bereft beyond belief, and at this time we ask for privacy as a family to be allowed time to process and grieve.’
In a short statement, Taunton-based Bishops Hull Cricket Club paid tribute to the teen, who was one of its members, describing him as a ‘dear friend’.
Barnaby was described as a ‘key part’ of the club – ‘playing more than 30 games for the club, scoring 622 runs, and taking 29 wickets’ – and the statement invited family and friends to lay flowers and pay their respects at the ground.
Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan also paid tribute to Mr Webber, describing him as a ‘young cricketer gone far too soon’.
A former pupil of Taunton School also posted a tribute in the Old Tauntonians alumni group on Facebook, describing him as a ‘wonderful young man with much to look forward to’.
Grace played hockey for Southgate in London and had broken into the England squad for her age group, The Sun reports.
Her parents were too distraught to speak, the newspaper adds.
England Hockey paid tribute to Ms Kumar, saying: ‘We are all deeply saddened by the news of the tragic death of Grace Kumar in Nottingham on Tuesday.
‘Grace was a popular member of the England U16 and U18 squads and our thoughts are with Grace’s family, friends, teammates and the whole hockey community at this time.’
Nottinghamshire Police Chief Constable Kate Meynell said the motive behind the attack was yet to be determined, but officers were keeping an ‘open mind’ and working with counter-terror police.
She added that the families of all the victims had been informed and were being supported by specially-trained officers.
A vigil at Nottingham’s St Peter’s Church, in the city centre, was attended by hundreds of people paying their respects to those who died and those injured.
During the service, attended by mainly students from both the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University, those present were invited to place flowers below the altar or light a candle.
Throughout the day on Tuesday, witnesses gave harrowing accounts of the attacks, with one telling the BBC he heard ‘awful, blood-curdling screams’ and saw a ‘black guy dressed all in black with a hood and rucksack grappling with some people’.
Ms Meynell confirmed officers had carried out searches at a number of properties around the city – with cordons seen being put up on various sections of Ilkeston Road.
A terraced property on the road was under police guard, with staff at a neighbouring hairdresser saying it had been raided last year.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman said ‘we’re in a very early stage of the investigation’ when asked whether the attack could have been terror-related.
She told broadcasters in Westminster: ‘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.’
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