MP’s aide: I put pressure on the wounds but casualties were in a very very bad way
Bid to save Reading attack victims
A PARLIAMENTARY aide has told how he desperately tried to save the Rea ding stabbing victims, using his shirt to try to stem the blood.
James Antell, who works for Tory MP Chris Loder, witnessed the attack in Forbury Gardens on Saturday evening, which left David Wails, 49, Joe RitchieBennett, 39, and James Furlong, 36, dead.
Speaking about it for the first time, Mr Antell said: “I tried my very best to identify where the injuries were and took my shirt and used it to try and apply pressure to the wounds, but the casualties were in a very, very bad way.
“I felt a little bit shaken, but my overriding thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones.”
Khairi Saadallah, 25, a Libyan national, is being questioned under terrorism legislation about the killings. His family claim that at 15 Saadallah fought with militia group, the Union of the February 17 Revolution, to overthrow Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
Speaking by phone from the Libyan capital Tripoli, his older brother Mohamed said: “Khairi fought against Gaddafi in 2011 in Benghazi when he was just 15 years old, and after the war was over he went to the UK, aged 16.
“The reason he went to the UK was that he was upset with the way the Libyan revolution turned out, because it turned into a civil war. He did have some psychological problems, mainly as a result of his experiences in 2011.”
His sister Eiman added that Saadallah converted to Christianity, causing tension with his family in Libya.
Mohamed said: “He’s a normal person that loves life, he loves Western fashion, clothes, loves Western routine, he likes to enjoy the pub, he likes to enjoy pictures, he likes to go to the sea.”
It has been revealed police intercepted Saadallah on the street on Friday, hours
before the attack, after he had missed a mental health check at his home.
Yesterday the Blagrave Arms, where all three victims were regulars, paid tribute to “the kindest, most genuine and most loveliest people in our community”.
Floral tributes were left at the pub and three candles were lit in their honour.
David Wails’ parents said he had “never hurt anyone in his life”. They said: “We are broken-hearted at losing him.”
He moved to Reading in 2000 after starting work at chemicals firm Johnson Matthey, focussing on clean energy. His colleagues said he used his expertise to make a “positive impact on the world”.
Joe Ritchie-Bennett, an American who had lived in the UK for 15 years, “was the most kind, caring and loving person you could meet”, his family said.
James Furlong was a history teacher at The Holt school in Wokingham, Berks, which held a silent tribute on Monday.