Reading stabbing announced as terrorist incident

A stabbing incident in Reading on Saturday which left three people dead and three seriously injured has been announced as a terrorist incident, police have confirmed.

The attack took place at around 7pm in Forbury Gardens in Reading’s town centre.

One of the patients admitted to hospital has been discharged, while another remains in a stable condition at Royal Berkshire Hospital, a spokesperson said. 

Thames Valley Police have confirmed the attack is now being treated as terrorism and that counter-terror police would now be taking over the investigation.

Boris Johnson said he was "appalled and sickened" by the attack and pledged "we will not hesitate to take action" if there are lessons to be learned.

Assistant commissioner at Metropolitan Police, Neil Basu, said 41 witnesses had come forward following the attack.

In a statement he described the stabbings as an "atrocity" and sent his "deepest sympathies" to the family of the three people who died and those who have been injured.

Basu added that the incident was not connected to a Black Lives Matter (BLM) protest that took place earlier in the day in the park. 

He said: "We’re clear that it was not associated in any way with the Black Lives Matter protest which took place peacefully earlier on in the day and which had concluded some hours before this attack took place."

In updated news, a man held on suspicion of killing three people at a park in Reading was known to MI5, security sources say.

Khairi Saadallah, 25, from the town, was arrested on Saturday and police say they are not looking for anyone else over the terror incident.

Sources told the BBC he is originally from Libya and came to the attention of MI5 in 2019.