Police checked up on terrorist Khairi Saadallah the day before he stabbed three men to death in a Reading park unaware he had purchased a knife and was planning to cause carnage.
He had already bought the weapon from Morrisons and had carried out “reconnaissance” for his deadly mission to exact “religious jihad”.
Saadallah, 26, has been sentenced at the Old Bailey to a whole life order for murdering friends James Furlong, 36, David Wails, 49, and Joseph Ritchie-Bennett, 39, during the attack in Forbury Gardens on June 20 last year.
Three other victims, Stephen Young, Patrick Edwards and Nishit Nisudan, were also injured before Saadallah threw away the knife and fled the scene.
But just hours before he carried out the executions, shouting “Allahu akhbar” as he stabbed his victims in a ten second murder spree, police spoke to him face to face over concerns about his mental state after they were alerted by his brother.
Bodycam footage released by police (above) shows an officer having a two minute conversation with him where he tells him he was “feeling down”.
“You were feeling a bit down. You were feeling a bit unwell?” asks the officer.
“Yesterday yeh,” Saadallah replies.
“You were feeling down yesterday. You were supposed to see the crisis team?”
“I spoke to them yeh.”
“You spoke to them. What did you say?”
“I spoke to them and they say they’re going to ring me back.”
The officer finishes questioning Saadallah, saying: “They’re gonna ring you back?”after he tells them he is getting his life sorted out and has a job in the pipeline as a gardener. Apparently satisfied with his answers the police then leave.
Saadallah managed to avoid deportation by the Home Office on five separate occasions before carrying out the attack, which involved calculated planning. MI5 had been keeping tabs on him after learning he planned to travel to Syria but dismissed his threat as “low level”. He also failed to attend the UK Prevent de-radicalisation programme.
Libyan asylum seeker Khairi Saadallah lighting a ‘joint’
At the age of 16 he had been pictured in Tripoli with the Islamist militia Ansar al-Sharia carrying a Kalashnikov and moved to Manchester a year later.
Teacher James Furlong
Judge Mr Justice Sweeney said it was a “ruthless and brutal” terror attack.
Saadallah, of Basingstoke Road, Reading, carried out “executions” for “religious jihad” and the victims “had no chance to react, let alone defend themselves”.
He remained emotionless as the judge said it was an attack which “involved a substantial degree of premeditation or planning” which was carried out for “a political, religious, or ideological cause”.
Victim Joe Ritchie-Bennett
Forbury Gardens was busy on the afternoon of June 20 as the first lockdown restrictions had been relaxed in England. Witness Andrew Cafe told the court he saw Saadallah charging towards him armed with the “biggest kitchen knife” and shouting “Allahu Akbar”.
David Wails
Teacher James Furlong, pharmaceutical manager Joe Ritchie-Bennett and scientist David Wails, who were members of the LGBT community, died at the scene after being treated by medics. Mr Furlong and Mr Ritchie-Bennett both suffered single stab wounds to the neck and Mr Wails was stabbed in the back. Three other people were also attacked and injured before Saadallah threw away the knife and fled the scene, pursued by police.
Teacher James Furlong with his nieces
James pictured at the school where he worked as a teacher
Saadallah was given a life sentence with a whole life order which means he will serve his sentence without any possibility of parole or conditional release.
He was also given 24 years’ imprisonment for each of the three attempted murder charges to run concurrently.
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