UK stabber kills 3
2 more wounded in park madness
Three people are dead and at least two were critically injured in a random stabbing in a park in Britain on Saturday, according to reports.
One suspect was arrested at the scene in Reading, England, said police, who have not officially confirmed the fatalities.
However three UK news outlets — the Telegraph newspaper, the BBC and Sky News — reported that three had succumbed, citing lawenforcement sources.
The three were declared dead at the scene, the reports said, and some of the injured were transferred to the emergency room at Royal Berkshire Hospital.
Officials had initially believed the attack was an act of terror, but later backed off that assessment.
The attack on a sunny summer evening, in a crowded park about 40 miles west of London, appeared to be “completely random,” a witness claimed.
“One lone person walked through, suddenly shouted some unintelligible words and went around a large group of around 10, trying to stab them,” said Lawrence Wort, 20, according to The Sun newspaper.
He struck so suddenly that his first three victims could hardly have seen him coming, the witness said.
Those three were stabbed in the neck suddenly, and under the arms, the witness added.
“And then [he] turned and started running towards me, and we turned and started running,” he said.
“When he realized that he couldn’t catch us, he tried to stab another group . . . he got one person in the back of the neck, and then when he realized everyone was starting to run, he ran out the park.”
Another man said it looked like the attacker was tapping people on the head, according to a report.
“I thought they were playing duck, duck, goose and thought someone had been sick,” said the man, who gave his name as Dan.
Then, “we realized it was blood spraying out.”