「The Third Victim Of The Reading Terror Attack Was Today Named As A Senior Scientist At A Chemicals Firm As It Emerged Libyan Suspect Khairi Saadallah Was Freed Early From Jail After A Judge Reduced His Sentence In March」を編集中

The third victim of the Reading terror attack was today named as a senior scientist at a chemicals firm as it emerged Libyan suspect Khairi Saadallah was freed early from jail after a judge reduced his sentence in March.<br>David Wails was killed on Saturday evening at Forbury Gardens in Reading, along with two of his friends - 'brilliant and loving' pharmaceutical worker Joe Ritchie-Bennett, 39, from Philadelphia in the US, who had been living in Britain for 15 years; and James Furlong, 36, a local history teacher.<br>Mr Wails was identified hours after it was revealed suspect Saadallah, 25, had his jail term for non-terror-related offences cut from 25 months and 20 days to 17 months and 20 days at the Court of Appeal in March<br>The sentencing reduction meant he was freed early from prison, and on Saturday night he allegedly went on the rampage in Reading, murdering three people.<br><br>Two others who were injured remain in hospital and one has now been discharged, while police including counter-terrorism detectives continue to question Saadallah.<br>It comes amid fears among locals that it may have been a homophobic attack, with one saying: 'Two of the confirmed deaths are gay men. A friend told me the third is also a gay man. I knew one of them, who was an acquaintance.<br><br>A homophobic attack can still be a terrorist incident.'<br>Detectives have not ruled out homophobia as a motive. Saadallah - who was jailed last year for offences including racially aggravated common assault, carrying a bladed article and assaulting an emergency worker - came to the attention of MI5 last year, after they suspected he was planning to travel to Syria for 'extremist reasons'. <br>Last night the elder brother of Joe Ritchie-Bennett said he was horrified that bystanders had filmed the triple murder rather than stepping in to help victims.<br>'We saw that horrible video that surfaced online,' said Robert Ritchie, 43, who is a captain with the Philadelphia police.<br><br>'My mum told me that was him, she had just bought him those new jeans and he'd bought those shoes.<br>'I don't know why people do that. Stand around and not help or intervene. It's hurtful to the family. It's tough to see your brother there and people working on him and you not being there.<br>'I tortured myself thinking of his final moments.'<br>Mr Ritchie-Bennett was from Philadelphia, but had been living in Britain for 15 years.<br>He had been working for a Dutch pharmaceutical firm in Reading for about a decade, after working for a London law firm when he first moved to England.<br>His spouse Ian Bennett, whom he married in England  [https://pinfaves.com/jamie-park-weight-loss/ https://pinfaves.com/jamie-park-weight-loss/] in November 2006, died in December 2014 aged 32 after a short battle with colon cancer.<br>Yesterday it emerged that Mr Ritchie-Bennett had been ill with coronavirus and Mr Furlong had been delivering his meals to him in isolation.<br>Mr Ritchie-Bennett's brother said he had never got over the death of his spouse, but had made a home in Reading.<br><br>Robert Ritchie added: 'We last spoke a week on Sunday. He sounded great, the happiest I've ever heard him. He loved the people in the UK, he really found a home there. Everybody loved Joe, he was the life of the party from the time we were kids. No act of terrorism will ever take away his memory and his spirit.'<br>Mr Ritchie-Bennett's father Robert, 71, a retired police chief inspector, is now a college professor who lectures on counter terrorism.<br><br>'I'm devastated,' he said. 'He was a very caring and loving guy.<br>'He just loved life and it was a blessing to be his father. We've decided to bring him home, he's not going to be buried in the UK.' <br>In other developments in the shocking terror attack which left Prime Minister Boris Johnson feeling 'sickened':<br>Former counter-terror chief Sir Mark Rowley warned police and security services face a 'wicked problem' deciding which of the 40,000 people known to them could launch a terror attack;Home Secretary Priti Patel said it was important to 'prevent anything like this from happening again'; The parents of James Furlong, a teacher and the first confirmed victim of the rampage, paid tribute to him;It emerged that Saadallah was released from HMP Bullingdon 17 days ago after less than half of his sentence;Sources say Saadallah required medication for post-traumatic stress disorder and a form of schizophrenia; Anti-terror police believe that the suspect stopped taking his medication in the run-up to the knife rampage;His cousin said Saadallah fled Libya to escape Islamists before later converting to Christianity in Britain;He was flagged to MI5 as potentially wanting to travel to Syria for ISIS, but he was dismissed him as a threat.                     The third victim of the Reading terror attack was today named as David Wails (left) who died along with Joe Ritchie-Bennett (centre), 39, from Philadelphia in the US, James Furlong (right), 36, who had been sitting together when they were attacked<br>         Khairi Saadallah, 25, has been accused of carrying out the knife rampage in Reading on Saturday that left three people dead.<br><br>He is pictured here smoking a cannabis joint<br>       One onlooker, Lawrence Wort (in blue), said he saw the man stab three men 'in the neck and under the arms' before turning around and running towards him.<br><br>He and his group fled and the attacker then tried to stab another group sitting down. Two of the three victims, Joe Ritchie-Bennett, 39, and James Furlong, 36, are also pictured above (in green)<br>       Mr Ritchie-Bennett (left) is pictured with his late husband Ian Bennett (right), whom he married in England in November 2006.<br><br>Mr Bennett died in December 2014 aged 32 after a short battle with colon cancer<br>       Speaking at Forbury Gardens in Reading today, Home Secretary Priti Patel said it was important to 'prevent anything like this from happening again'<br>         Colleagues and pupils of victim James Furlong take part in a silence at his school, the Holt School, in Wokingham today <br>         Wokingham Town Mayor Tony Lack and wife Claire light a candle in St Paul's Parish Church, Wokingham, for Mr Furlong today<br>A heart-shaped floral tribute to the three men could be seen outside the Blagrave Arms pub in the town on Monday afternoon.<br>Alongside the names 'Dave, James and Joe', a note on the door said: 'We will never forget you.<br><br>RIP.'<br>A message among the flowers added: 'Our friends were the kindest, most genuine, and most loveliest people in our community that we had the pleasure in knowing.<br>'They'll be forever in our thoughts.'<br>A minute's silence for the men was held outside the bar on Monday evening.<br><br>Ahead of the pause, Jamie Wake, a friend of the victims, told reporters: 'I wish I could stand here and say that I can make sense of the senseless. Sadly today, like many others, I can't.<br>'We become so used to seeing incidents like this on the television. This time, we cannot change the channel.<br>This time, it's on our doorstep.'<br>   RELATED ARTICLES               <br><br><br><br>Share this article<br>Share<br><br><br>Mr Wake added: 'The LGBT+ community and our allies, here in Reading, are close family, and we're stood here outside the Blagrave, a place we call home, and a safe space for so many members of our community.'<br>Paul Britt, 43, the chairman of Reading Pride, added: 'This pub has been closed due to Covid so everyone has been feeling isolated in their grief, but this was an opportunity for people to come together to comprehend their grief collectively.<br><br>It has been cathartic for many people.' <br>In Reading, a minute's silence was held at 10am, while students of Mr Furlong, head of history at the Holt Community School in Wokingham, flocked to a church to remember him by lighting candles and laying flowers.<br><div class="art-ins mol-factbox news halfRHS" data-version="2" id="mol-326a1900-b4d1-11ea-a49e-4f0438849333" website terror attack victims were three friends