Terrorist stabbed three people to death in less than a minute, court told

Three men were “executed” in a Reading park by a “ruthlessly efficient” terrorist in less than one minute, a court has heard.

Khairi Saadallah, 26, shouted “Allahu akhbar” during the violent spree which left teacher James Furlong, 36, scientist David Wails, 49, and US citizen Joseph Ritchie-Bennett, 39, dead.

Three other people – Stephen Young, Patrick Edwards and Nishit Nisudan – were also injured before Saadallah threw away the knife and ran off, pursued by an off-duty police officer.

Roger Smith, who was among the victims’ group, saw Mr Ritchie-Bennett “just going over sideways, like a tree being felled” as he was stabbed in the neck.

He said it “all happened really quickly” and was like a “weird dream”.

Another eyewitness, Andrew Cafe, said: “I saw him holding the knife and as he was charging towards us he shouted ‘Allah Akbar’.”

Following his arrest, Saadallah initially said he wanted to plead guilty to the “jihad that I done” but later feigned mental illness in police interviews.

Saadallah, of Basingstoke Road, Reading, pleaded guilty to three murders and three attempted murders and appeared at the Old Bailey on Tuesday for the start of his sentencing.

Prosecutor Alison Morgan QC said Saadallah aimed to kill as many people as possible in the name of violent jihad.

She said: “In just half a minute, the defendant was able to inflict catastrophic injuries to three people and serious injuries to three others.

“The prosecution’s case was that this was not an accident. This was not a frenzied attack by someone wielding a knife in a random, uncontrolled manner.

“In effect, the killings of Joseph Ritchie-Bennett, David Wails and James Furlong were highly effective executions.”

Mr Ritchie-Bennett and Mr Furlong both suffered single stab wounds to the neck, and Mr Wails was stabbed once to the back.

Ms Morgan said the defendant was “ruthlessly efficient” in his actions, having planned and executed the attack with “determination and precision”.

The court heard that Saadallah, who arrived in Britain in 2012, had previously been involved with militias who had been part of the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi and was pictured handling weapons, including firearms.

He developed an emotionally unstable and anti-social personality disorder, with his behaviour worsened by alcohol and cannabis misuse, the court was told.

In 2017, the “impressionable and volatile” defendant associated at HMP Bullingdon with prominent radical preacher Omar Brooks, who is associated with the banned terrorist organisation Al-Muhajiroun.

An examination of his mobile phone revealed his interest in extremist material, including the flag of the so-called Islamic State and Jihadi John.

The court was told Saadallah was released from HMP Bullingdon on June 5, just days before the attack.

On June 18, he was in contact with his probation officer who alerted his mental health team over concern about comments Saadallah had made about “magic”.

Saadallah contacted the crisis team himself, but when they visited him on June 19, he did not open the door.

Police visited him the same day, prompted by concerns from his brother, but Saadallah insisted he was “alright”, while standing near a knife he had bought from Morrisons supermarket.

The court heard that a psychiatrist had since concluded that the events of June 20 were “unrelated to the effects of either mental disorder or substance misuse”.

Mr Justice Sweeney adjourned the hearing until Wednesday and said the sentencing would conclude on Monday.