Friends pay tribute to 19-year-old student stabbed to death in Nottingham rampage

A 19-year-old university student who was killed at random ‘just five minutes from home’ in a knife and van rampage in Nottingham today has been pictured for the first time.

Barnaby Webber, who previously attended Taunton school, was one of three people to lose their lives in a horrific string of attacks in the city earlier on Tuesday. The talented sportsman was killed as he walked home from a night out with a friend, fellow students said.

The cricketer and rugby player attended the £7,890-a-term school in his home town in Somerset, where family were gathering to comfort each other on Tuesday.

Police have arrested a 31-year-old man on suspicion of murder after three people died in the early hours of Monday morning. 

The three victims are believed to have been randomly attacked and stabbed to death by a knifeman dressed in black and wearing a rucksack. 

Counter terror police have raided two properties in Nottingham, with officers saying they are keeping an ‘open mind’ over the attacker’s motive.

One raid took place this afternoon around Ilkeston Road in a student area of the city,  where police were called to just after 4am to reports that a young man and woman had knife injuries and were ‘unresponsive’. 

A student said the pair were just ‘five minutes’ from home when they were ambushed. Another said of the male victim: ‘He was a friend of mine. He was just walking home from a club like we all do and got unlucky five minutes away from home.’

After the first attack, a third body was found on Magdala Street at around 5.30am, which was an unnamed man in his 50s, police have confirmed.

In a press conference on Monday evening, a spokesperson said the force’s current hypothesis is that the 31-year-old man killed the man in his 50s, before stealing his van and ramming into three other members of the public nearby.

Police were called to the final incident on Milton Street at around 5.30am on Tuesday, where a van ran into three people who are now being treated in hospital. The man was arrested and tasered at 5.40am.

Barnaby was walking home with a young woman, who was also stabbed to death at the scene

Nottingham remains locked down following a terrifying sequence of events this morning

Barnaby’s grief-stricken father, David, 51, said only that it ‘wasn’t a good time’ when approached at the family home, before other relatives arrived with flowers.

It is believed Mr Webber, director of an IT consultancy, called one of his son’s flatmates in Nottingham to inform the fellow students of the tragedy.

Both Barnaby and the young woman killed alongside him were students at the University of Nottingham. 

A female student from the same halls of residence said: ‘Barnaby was a friend of mine he was just walking home from a club like we all do they just got unlucky they were five Minutes from home and stabbed by some random guy.’

The Webber family live in a £550,000 four-bedroom home.

Barnaby had travelled home from Nottingham only last month to play cricket for a local club, Bishops Hull. He had also turned out for them in an indoor league.

Taunton School newsletters report he was a talented hockey player too.

One man is in a critical condition, while two other people received minor injuries. They are believed to have been waiting for a bus at the time. 

Nottinghamshire Police Chief Constable Kate Meynell, speaking outside a police station in the city, said: ‘Police were called to Ilkeston Road just after 4am after a member of the public reported that two people aged 19 had been stabbed and were unresponsive.

‘We had a further call to another incident in Milton Street, where the driver of a stolen van had attempted to run over three people. As a result, one man is in hospital in a critical condition while two others are believed to have suffered minor injuries.

‘The van was then stopped on Maple Street, where a man was tasered and detained by police officers on suspicion of murder. A man in his 50s was also found dead from knife injuries in Magdala Road by a member of the public.

‘At the moment, we believe that the suspect has stolen this man’s vehicle and driven it to Milton Street, where he is then driven at members of the public.

‘We are still in the early stages of the investigation. I need to determine exactly what the motives were behind this attack.’

Nottinghamshire Police said they are now working alongside counter-terror colleagues to ‘establish the facts’ and determine the motive for the attack. They do not believe anyone else was involved. 

All the victims’ families have been informed and they are being supported by specialist officers. 

Chief Constable Meynell added: ‘I want to thank those who live and work in our city for their patience and understanding in incredibly difficult circumstances. We will, of course, keep the public updated as soon as we are able to say anything further. 

‘This is a very sad day for our city and we will do everything possible for the victims and their families.’

The talented sportsman was killed on his way home from a night out in the city

Students attend a vigil in Nottingham for the two 19-year-olds and man in his 50s who were killed on Tuesday

A vigil at Nottingham’s St Peter’s Church, in the city centre, was attended by hundreds of people paying their respects to those who died and those injured

Hundreds of young people were among those to pay their respects, many of whom were emotional

People comfort one another in Nottingham after the death of Barnaby Webber, a 19-year-old woman and a man in his 50s

Candles are lit and flowers laid at St Peters’ Church in memory of the victims of the attacks

Many of those who attended the vigil were students at the universities of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent

Nottinghamshire Police Chief Constable Kate Meynell speaking to the media outside Central Police Station in Nottingham on Monday evening

Forensic officers work at the scene of a white van following the attacks on Tuesday

A specialist Counter Terrorist Specialist Firearms Officer on patrol on Ilkeston Road in Nottingham today

The Home Secretary also expressed shock at the attack in Nottingham. Suella Braverman said: ‘First of all, I want to say how shocked and saddened I am that three people have lost their lives earlier today in Nottingham and that further individuals have been injured in this tragic incident.

‘My thoughts first and foremost are with all of those who have been involved, their friends, their families and their communities.

‘I want to thank the emergency services for their rapid response. They’re working around the clock to keep people safe and we’re incredibly grateful for their efforts.’

She added: ‘I’m in regular contact with the Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire Police, but I want to take this opportunity to urge anybody who has any information about this incident to come forward and report it to the police.

‘It’s right that Nottinghamshire Police are working with Counter Terrorism Policing. But it’s also fair to say that everybody and all professionals on the front line are keeping an open mind as to what the precise motive might have been.’

Today, the University of Nottingham confirmed two of the dead were students and that a graduation ball scheduled for tonight would be cancelled.

‘It is with great sadness that we confirm the sudden and unexpected death of two of our students following a major incident in Nottingham city centre overnight,’ a spokesman said. 

‘We are shocked and devastated by the news and our thoughts are with those affected, their families and friends.

‘We know this is likely to cause distress for staff and students in our community. Support is available through our support and wellbeing services for any of our community who may need it.’

A vigil at Nottingham’s St Peter’s Church, in the city centre, was attended by hundreds of people paying their respects to those who died and those injured.

During the service, attended by mainly young people of university age, those present were invited to place flowers below the altar or light a candle.

The Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham, the Rt Revd Paul Williams, said the impromptu service was an opportunity to ‘pray for those whose lives have so cruelly taken away’.

The bishop also said the city was ‘in collective shock and disbelief.’

Those attending the vigil included students from the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University.

Speaking outside the church, a second-year student at the University of Nottingham said: ‘We live fairly close to where, unfortunately, [the two students] were found, so it has properly shook up a lot of people.

‘It’s really scary. It’s so horrible that this has happened.’

Labour MP for Nottingham East Nadia Whittome said: ‘Our whole city is shaken and completely devastated by this.

‘Nothing like this has happened in Nottingham in my lifetime.

‘But I know that the city already has come together. We’ve all just come back from the vigil which was particularly attended by a lot of young people who are paying respects to their classmates and their families who have been killed today and I know that that will continue over the coming days and weeks.’

She encouraged people affected to access support available through the University (of Nottingham) wellbeing services and Nottingham Victim Care.

Meanwhile Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said: ‘

My thoughts and prayers are with the City of Nottingham following the devastating news that three people have lost their lives, including two students from @UniofNottingham. 

‘Support is available for students and staff and my Department stands ready to assist in any way we can.’

Forensic officers carry away evidence from one scene of investigation on Tuesday in Nottingham

A phone confiscated by a search team is sealed in an evidence bag and carried away for examination

Counter terror police have raided two properties in Nottingham with cops saying they are keeping an ‘open mind’ over the motive for the attack

A house on Ilkeston Road is raided by police this afternoon 

Police guarding the property after the raid 

Officers are seen pinning a man down on a pavement in Nottingham today. Three people have been killed in the city, police said

Armed police on patrol in Nottingham city centre this afternoon 

Chief Constable Meynell earlier said: ‘This is a tragic series of events which has led to the lives of three innocent people being taken and left another member of the public in a critical condition in hospital.

‘My thoughts are with all the families affected by this shocking incident, and we will be working extremely hard to understand exactly what has happened.

‘We are at the early stages of the investigation and need to determine the motives behind these attacks and will keep the public updated as soon as we are able to say more.

‘We are keeping an open mind as we investigate the circumstances surrounding these incidents and are working alongside Counter Terrorism Policing to establish the facts – as we would normally do in these types of circumstances.

‘We do have a man in custody who has been arrested on suspicion of murder. Currently, we do not believe there is anyone else involved in this incident.

‘It is safe to go into the city centre but there are a number of streets that will remain closed including Ilkeston Road, Magdala Street, Milton Street and Maple Street. This is so officers can gather evidence in order to understand what has happened.’

Witness Lynn Haggitt described seeing a man in a white van at around 5.30am on Milton Street near the Theatre Royal. She said the man looked in his mirror and saw a police car behind him, before ‘quickening up’ and slamming into two people.  

At 5.40am on Bentinck Road, witness Kane Brady told GB News he was woken by ‘what sounded like gunshots’ and saw a person tasered, dragged out of a van and arrested. 

A 31-year-old man was arrested on Bentinck Road on suspicion of murder and officers are linking the three deaths. 

A man was also found dead on Magdala Road. Delivery driver Miklos Toldi, 37, and his wife Petra found the body as they headed to work in their car at around 5.30am. ‘The blood looked as if it was fresh,’ he said – adding that the victim had been stabbed. 

Mohammed Qasim and Nisar Ahmed, who work at Xclusive Hair Studio next door to one of the properties on Ilkeston Road that was raided today, said police also broke into the property last year. 

Mr Qasim added: ‘A for sale sign has been up for about two-three months. We haven’t seen anyone since.’ 

Meanwhile, two female university students in another property that was raided on Ilkeston Road said officers repeatedly asked them if they knew a black man who lived at the address, the Telegraph reports. 

Around 20 police officers – some armed with rifles – battered down the door and questioned Bella Crawshaw and her housemate Liv.

Miss Crawshaw, a 20-year-old computer sciences student, said she was asked by officers if she knew of a black man who lived at the address or if she ‘hung out with one’.

The women were later released.  

Nottingham city centre remains locked down this afternoon, with dozens of squad cars, fire engines and ambulances on the scene. 

Police have cordoned off around 400 yards of the scene at Ilkeston Road with tape, and what appeared to be medical kit was scattered across the road.

Two forensic officers arrived and appeared to dedicate the majority of their time at a bathroom and plumbing business called Willbond.

The area around a white Vauxhall Vivaro van in Bentinck Road has also been cordoned off.

The van has been left short distance from the pavement with its passenger door open and what looks like a black bag on the road near the door. 

A witness told the BBC he saw a young man and young woman being stabbed on Ilkeston Road, close to the junction with Bright Street in Nottingham, at around 4am.

The man, who did not give his name, said he heard ‘awful, blood-curdling screams’ and looked out his window to see a ‘black guy dressed all in black with a hood and rucksack grappling with some people’.

He told the broadcaster: ‘She was screaming ‘Help!’ I just wish I’d shouted something out of the window to unnerve the assailant.

‘I saw him stab the lad first and then the woman. It was repeated stabbing – four or five times. The lad collapsed in the middle of the road.

‘The girl stumbled towards a house and didn’t move. 

‘The next minute she had disappeared down the side of a house, and that’s where they found her.

‘I’d say it all happened within five or six minutes. 

‘The attacker then just walked off up Ilkeston Road towards town, as calm as anything.’

The man said he called the police who arrived within five minutes, before paramedics tried to revive the pair for 40 minutes.   

Witness Lynn Haggitt told Channel 4 News she saw a van hitting two people on Milton Street near the Theatre Royal at around 5.30am. 

‘At half past five I saw a van pull up at the side of me,’ she said. ‘It was white, all white. There was a police car behind it coming up slowly, no flashing lights.

‘The man in the driver’s seat looked in his mirror and saw the police car behind him.’

A photo of a Vauxhall Vivaro van on Bentinck Road in Nottingham today. There are dents in the bonnet and cracks in the windscreen 

A police forensic officer takes a photo of the scene on Magdala Road, where a man was found dead 

A cordon surrounded the Vauxhall Vivaro van in Bentinck Road, Nottingham, today. A rucksack can be seen on the tarmac by the open door 

The van has been left short distance from the pavement with its passenger door open and what looks like a black bag on the road near the door

Viewed from the other side of the cordon, the van in Bentinck Road has clear damage to its bonnet and windscreen. There are two dents on the bonnet, just above the radiator grille, and two sets of corresponding cracks radiating out from two points on the windscreen

She said the white van then drove up to ‘the corner of the street and went into two people’.

‘The lady ended up on the curb, and then he backed up the white van and he went, speeded up Parliament Street with the police cars following him,’ Ms Haggitt added. 

When asked if she thought the collision was deliberate, Ms Haggitt said: ‘I don’t think I should say that, but to me he went straight into them, he didn’t even bother to turn, just went back straight into them.’

When asked if the people hit were hurt badly, she said that a man appeared to have a head injury.

‘They did get him to his feet,’ she added, but said of the woman who was hit: ‘She was sitting up on the curb, to me she looked OK’.

‘I was there for 15 minutes and there was no ambulance. One of the policemen, I think, did first aid. He looked after a man on the floor.’

Ms Haggitt told BBC News she spotted the van while she was on her way to work. 

‘He looked in his mirror, saw a police car behind him, he then quickened up, there were two people, two in the corner, he went straight into these two people.’

‘The woman went on the kerb, the man went up in the air, there was such a bang, I wish I never saw it, it’s really shaken me up. I went over, perhaps I shouldn’t have gone over but I wanted to see if I could help.

‘The woman was sitting up on the kerb, she looked OK. The man was laying down, but then he got up, sat on the side waiting for an ambulance. I can’t believe he was able to get up after the head wound.’ 

Officers were called to Ilkeston Road west of the city centre just after 4am. Two people were found dead in the street

A forensic tent on Magdala Road, Nottingham, where a man was found dead 

Forensics officers were later seen erecting a larger tent on Magdala Road

Police forensics officers on Ilkeston Road this afternoon as investigations continued 

Police forensics officers on Ilkeston Road, where they appeared to be analysing evidence left on the ground 

The officers seen photographing evidence on a road in Nottingham city centre 

A forensics officer placing items into a sealable bag in Nottingham today 

Another witness told Sky News she saw a man and woman hit by a van.

Frances, whose surname was not given, was on her way to work and was near Theatre Royal in the city centre when she saw the vehicle hit the two pedestrians.

She said: ‘There was a male and a female. The female, she could speak.

‘She was in pain from the impact from hitting the ground. She had hit her head but was still able to speak.

‘Then the gentleman as well took the full brunt of the van and he had head injuries but was still awake.

‘He didn’t lose consciousness, he was still awake at that stage.’

A witness on Bentinck Road told GB News he heard what sounded like gunshots before seeing armed police arresting a man after pulling him from a white van at around 5.30am.

The man was wearing a hat and the witness, who did not want to be named, could not see his face.

Police cordoned off around 400 yards of the scene at Ilkeston Road with tape, and what appeared to be medical kit was scattered across the road

The forensic officers eventually left the scene on foot with a black crate and large plastic bag

‘We woke up this morning at about 5.30 in the morning to what sounded like gunshots and went to a window and there was armed police running out of what looked like an undercover car,’ the witness said.

‘And then the suspect, whoever’s in the van is then tasered and dragged out by them and then they arrested him. 

‘We didn’t actually see any gunshots or anything but it certainly sounded like them with the glass all smashed in the van… I didn’t see the person who it was but I saw them arrested from behind.’

He added: ‘We saw a man pinned down on the ground and multiple armed police surrounding him and then more armed police later turned up after that.’

Student Demi Ojolow said: ‘I just saw the police shouting at him to get out of the car and get on the floor.

‘And they dragged him out of the car and he just fell on the floor. He was still pretty wrestling at the point.

‘They dragged him away and that was about it.’

Ms Ojolow said police were pointing some kind of weapons at the man but she was not sure whether it was a Taser or firearm.

She did not know if the man from the van was armed.

Asked what the police shouted, she said: ‘Get out of the car and get on the floor.’

Armed police in Nottingham city centre, which was locked down this morning 

Police forensics officers on Magdala Road, Nottingham, where a man was found dead 

Medical equipment lies within a police cordon on Ilkeston Road, where two people were found dead. A resident said police were ‘banging on my door’ at 5am asking for any CCTV footage

Another Bentinck Road resident, Dimitrious Lawani, said: ‘Two of them (police) were holding what seemed to me to be a Taser.

‘The other one seemed quite a bit bigger than a Taser. I’m not sure what that one was.’

Student Mr Lawani said he arrived at the scene just as the man was being pulled out of the van.

He said: ‘There’s two of them pulling him and two behind pointing at him – I think those were Tasers.’

He said they shouted: ‘Get down, get out, stop fighting.’

Delivery driver Miklos Toldi, 37, and his wife Petra found the body of the man in Magdala Road as they headed to work in their car at around 5.30am.

They live just 100 yards from where the body was found and stopped their car at the same time as another motorist.

Mr Toldi, a Hungarian national, said the victim had clearly been stabbed. He was aged around 65 with grey hair and black trousers.

‘I saw the body lying in the street,’ he said. ‘There was blood trailing down the road. The blood looked as if it was fresh.’

‘He was lying on his side, his mouth was open and there was no movement.’

Mr Toldi said it took the police only about two or three minutes to arrive at the scene following a 999 call.

Officers turned the man on to his back to start CPR and Mr Toldi said he saw what appeared to be several stab wounds in his chest. ‘His knuckles were also covered in blood,’ he said.

‘It was a big shock. I’m ok but I am worried about my wife.’ 

One resident overlooking Magdala Road said he was woken by the ‘sound of a woman’s screams.’

The man, who asked not to be named, said: ‘I was worried it was the sound of someone being attacked but thinking about it now it may have been the person who came across the body.’

He said he later saw police and a sheet, probably covering a body, on the road outside the tennis club.

Six roads are shut and tram services were cancelled as police locked down the entire city centre 

National inter-agency liaison officers (NILO) on the scene in Nottingham city centre today 

Magdala Road is in a leafy middle class area of Nottingham with large detached homes. 

Six roads around the city and suburbs have been shut and tram services cancelled, while ambulances, fire engines and specialist officers dressed in body armour and helmets are on the scene.

They are National inter-agency liaison officers (NILO) – part of an elite force set up in the wake of the Manchester Arena bombing. 

Police have said road closures will remain in place for ‘some time’ and vowed to release more information when they can.

Local resident Glen Gretton said he was woken up at around 5am morning by the sounds of a series of police cars passing his home.

The 46-year-old delivery driver, who lives in a flat in Mansfield Road in Sherwood, said: ‘I heard a police car go past. 

‘It was driving extremely quickly, followed by another one, another one.

‘They just kept coming so I knew something quite major … was happening somewhere around the city centre.’

Chief Constable Kate Meynell said: ‘This is an horrific and tragic incident which has claimed the lives of three people. Pictured are officers at the scene  

Rishi Sunak said he is being kept updated on the ‘shocking incident’ in Nottingham as police investigate, and he paid tribute to those who have lost their lives and their families. 

The Prime Minister tweeted: ‘I want to thank the police and emergency services for their ongoing response to the shocking incident in Nottingham this morning.

‘I am being kept updated on developments. The police must be given the time to undertake their work.

‘My thoughts are with those injured, and the family and loved ones of those who have lost their lives.’

French president Emmanuel Macron tweeted: ‘Our thoughts go to the victims of the tragic events in Nottingham, the injured, the families.

‘We share the grief of our British friends and stand by their side.’

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said she is ‘shocked and saddened’ at the deaths in Nottingham and has spoken with the Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire Police.

She tweeted: ‘I am shocked & saddened that three people have lost their lives today in Nottingham. My thoughts are with those affected by this incident.

‘I have spoken to @nottspolice Chief Constable & am receiving regular updates. I am thankful to the emergency services for their response.’

The A6008 Upper Parliament Street is currently closed from the junction with Maid Marian Way, towards the Theatre Royal. 

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was being kept ‘updated’ on any developments 

Ben Bradley, the leader of Nottingham city council, said his ‘thoughts’ were with everyone in the city 

Robert Jenrick, a Home Office minister and the Conservative Member of Parliament for Newark, Nottinghamshire, shared his shock today 

The A60 Mansfield Road is also closed between Woodborough Road, towards Mapperley and St Ann’s, and Shakespeare Street, near the Victoria Centre.

Milton Street, the street parallel to the main entrance to the shopping centre, and Burton Street are also closed in the city centre. 

All tram services have been suspended, due to what has been described as a ‘major police incident, with tram tickets being accepted on buses. 

Maples Street in Hyson Green is also shut, while the A609 Ilkeston Road is also closed in both directions, with slow traffic due to a police incident from Faraday Road to Bright Street. Magdala Road near Mapperley Park is also closed.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said his thoughts were with the family and friends of those who had died and were injured in Nottingham.

He tweeted: ‘Awful news from Nottingham this morning. My thoughts are with the family and friends of those who have lost their lives, those injured, and the people of Nottingham.

‘Thank you to the police and the emergency services as they respond to this terrible incident.’

Officers guarding the cordon in Nottingham city centre this morning 

National inter-agency liaison officers (NILO) on the scene in Nottingham 

Robert Jenrick, a Home Office minister and the Conservative Member of Parliament for Newark, Nottinghamshire, tweeted: ‘I’m deeply grateful to @nottspolice and all those who responded to the terrible attack earlier today in Nottingham.

‘All of us in Nottinghamshire share a sense of shock. My thoughts and prayers are with those injured and with the family and friends of those killed.’

Nottingham’s three Labour MPs, Nadia Whittome, Lilian Greenwood and Alex Norris, said they were ‘shaken’ by the events in the city.

A joint statement posted on Twitter by Ms Whittome said: ‘Our city has been devastated by the deaths of three people this morning.

‘Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of those who have died and those injured.

‘We are grateful for the efforts of the city’s emergency responders in tackling these incidents. They must be allowed to do their jobs in investigating them.

‘Nottingham is a beautiful city, home to brilliant people from all backgrounds.

‘We are shaken by today’s events but will meet them collectively as a community and heal together.’

Nottinghamshire Police said: ‘We ask the public to be patient while inquiries continue. At this time, a number of roads in the city will remain closed as this investigation progresses’

Nottingham Forest Football Club also reacted to the incident, saying on Twitter: ‘We are devastated to learn the news of the horrific events that took place in Nottingham this morning.

‘The thoughts of everyone at #NFFC are with the friends and families of those who have tragically lost their lives and to everyone affected by this incident.’ 

Police have asked witnesses, or anyone concerned about a family member or friend, to call 0800 0961011.