Park stabbings kill three

Horror scenes as knifeman runs amok before being tackled by hero cop

A HERO police officer rugby tackled a suspected knifeman after a stabbing spree in a park left three dead and three seriously injured.

The victims were attacked apparently at random while enjoying a few beers on a warm evening in Reading’s Forbury Gardens after the partial easing of coronavirus restrictions.

The 25-year-old suspect, reportedly a Libyan national, was arrested at the scene by a lone police sergeant who tackled him to the ground. Later, heavily armed police raided a block of flats, thought to be the knifeman’s home but officials said they did not believe the attack was terror-related.

The victims were stabbed in the neck and under the arms as they enjoyed one of the few social activities sanctioned with pubs still closed under the lockdown.

Personal trainer Lawrence Wort, 20, who said he was around 10m from the attack, said there were distressing scenes. “The park was pretty full, a lot of people sat around drinking with friends, when one lone person walked through, suddenly shouted some unintelligible words and went around a large group of around 10, trying to stab them,” he said.

“He stabbed three of them, severely in the neck, and under the arms, and then turned and started running towards me, and we turned and started running.

“When he realised he couldn’t catch us, he tried to stab another group ... he got one person in the back of the neck then ... ran out the park.”

Another witness said believed at first it was a children’s game, rather than a deadly attack. “I thought they were playing duck, duck goose … then we realised it was blood.”

A police source told the Sunday Mirror: “It appears the attack was stopped when a lone sergeant, who responded when the alarm was raised, ran to the scene, saw the attacker running away with a knife and rugby tackled him to the ground.’

Helicopter ambulances (pictured) were dispatched to the scene and video footage posted on Twitter showed paramedics attending to people bleeding on the ground.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted: “My thoughts are with all of those affected by the appalling incident in Reading and my thanks to the emergency services on the scene.”