London vic slain by terror ex-con at confab on inmate rehabilitation
The first victim of the London Bridge stabbing spree was identified Saturday as a prisoner rehabilitation worker who was dedicated to helping radical ex-cons — like the man who killed him and a second victim in a bloody terror rampage.
Jack Merritt, 25, was attending a conference on Friday with attacker Usman Khan, 28, when Khan stabbed Merritt and a woman to death and wounded three others. Khan was ultimately shot dead by police.
“R.I.P. Jack: you were a beautiful spirit who always took the side of the underdog,” the victim’s father, David Merritt, wrote on Twitter.
Authorities were grappling with difficult questions Saturday
about the attack, including why Khan, who was previously convicted of terrorrelated crimes, was allowed to walk free.
Khan was convicted in 2012 of lesser charges in a sprawling terror plot that targeted the British Parliament, the U.S. Embassy, religious figures and Boris Johnson, the current prime minister who was then mayor of London.
He was originally given an indeterminate sentence, but that was lessened to a 16-year jail term the next year, allowing him to be automatically released after serving eight years.
Khan was freed last December after completing that sentence, but was required to wear an ankle bracelet.
ISIS has claimed responsibility for the terror attack, although there was no hard evidence linking the radical group to the stabbing spree.
The former head of Britain’s National Counter Terrorism Security Office, Chris Phillips, said Khan’s release was emblematic of the problems with the criminal justice system.
“We’re playing Russian roulette with people’s lives, letting convicted, known, radicalized jihadi criminals walk about our streets,” he said.
Johnson, who visited the crime scene Saturday, said it was a “mistake to allow serious and violent criminals to come out of prison early.”
But the slain man’s father refuted the notion that more prison time would solve society’s problems.
“My son … would not wish his death to be used as the pretext for more draconian sentences or for detaining people unnecessarily,” David Merritt wrote.
The second victim of the rampage was not immediately identified.
Khan was an adherent of radical Islamic preacher Anjem Choudary and was captured on tape discussing the planned terror attacks. He claimed to have been rehabilitated and renounced violence during his time behind bars.
Khan was invited to speak Friday at the Learning Together conference on prisoner rehabilitation sponsored by Cambridge University.
Merritt was attending the same event at the Fishmongers’ Hall, a historic maritime conference center, when Khan apparently snapped and started stabbing.
Khan then ran onto nearby London Bridge before being subdued by several bystanders, including a kitchen manager from the conference hall who grabbed a 5-foot long narwhal tusk on display inside the center to take down the man.
Another bystander used a fire extinguisher to spray the suspect.
One of the good Samaritans who helped subdue Khan was James Ford, 42, a murderer who was convicted in the 2004 slaying of a woman with learning difficulties. It was unclear if Ford was also attending the conference.
Police arrived at the scene to find Khan flashing what appeared to be a suicide vest. They shot and killed him on the spot, although the vest turned out to be fake.