UK terror suspect had been picked up by police hours before stabbings
The suspected terrorist who allegedly stabbed to death three people in a UK park had been picked up by a special police squad just hours before the weekend killing spree, according to a report.
Khairi Saadallah, 25, was found roaming the streets of Reading by a police mental health team just before midnight Friday following an unspecified alert over his ongoing psychiatric care, the Daily Mail said.
The Libyan refugee was taken home — just to leave again the next day and allegedly stab to death three men enjoying a picnic, including 39-year-old American Joe Ritchie-Bennett, the report says.
Saadallah was held under the UK’s Terrorism Act as officials branded it a “terror-related” attack.
Saadallah was known to have “various mental health issues” and was deemed “aggressive and unpredictable” in official documents seen by the UK paper.
He was also released from prison for a previous offense just 16 days before the attack, former Labour justice minister Maria Eagle told the Commons, calling Saadallah a known “potential terrorist sympathizer.”
Saadallah had also been investigated by MI5 intelligence officers and was on a special deradicalization program aimed at preventing people from becoming terrorists, the Times of London revealed.
He arrived in Britain eight years ago, claiming to have been a member of a group that helped overthrow the regime of Col. Moammar Gaddafi, the paper said.
It was not clear whether he was involved in a civilian role or took up arms during the Libyan civil war in which Gaddafi was deposed and killed, the report stressed.
Officials have not ruled out homophobia as a possible motive for the attack, according to the reports.
A friend also told the UK Times that the accused killer would make homophobic comments and had said that gay people were not accepted in Libya.
The three victims — Ritchie-Bennett, scientist David Wails, 49, and teacher James Furlong, 36 — were hailed as “the kindest, most genuine, and most loveliest people” in a tribute outside a bar they frequented, the Blagrave Arms, the UK Times said.