2023 Nottingham attacks
The attacks took place in Radford, in Mapperley Park and in the city centre of Nottingham (pictured above)
LocationNottingham, Nottinghamshire, England
Date13 June 2023
04:00–05:25 (BST)
TargetCivilians
Attack type
Stabbing, vehicle-ramming attack
Deaths3
Injured3
MotiveUnknown

On 13 June 2023, three people were fatally stabbed and three others were injured when a van was driven into them in three connected attacks in Nottingham, a city in the East Midlands in the United Kingdom. The attacks were carried out in the early morning, beginning around 04:00 BST with two fatal stabbings of university students in the street, continuing with the fatal stabbing of a school caretaker whose van was stolen, and ending when the suspect was arrested by police after driving a van into people who were standing at a bus stop.

On 16 June 2023, the suspect was charged with three counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder. On 17 June he was remanded in custody.

Attacks

At 04:00 BST on 13 June 2023, two 19-year-olds were found fatally stabbed on Ilkeston Road, Radford, Nottingham.[1][2][3] Nottinghamshire Police received a request to attend at 04:05.[4] An anonymous eyewitness told police that he had seen the two students being attacked, heard an awful scream, and saw a man dressed in black with a hood and rucksack fighting with some people. He watched the male victim collapse in the centre of the road, while the woman moved towards a house before disappearing by the side of the house.[5] CCTV footage was later found apparently showing the suspect attempting to break into a bedroom at Seely Hirst House hostel on Mapperley Road, less than an hour after he had attacked the two students.[6][4]

At 05:25, police were called to an incident in which a van had been driven into people waiting at a bus stop near the Theatre Royal in the city centre, in which three people were injured.[4][7] The suspect then attempted to run over two other pedestrians in the Sherwood Street area; they were believed to have suffered minor injuries.[8] A man was found stabbed to death on Magdala Road in the Mapperley Park area of the city, close to Seely House Hostel. At about 05:30, after a man approached police with a knife, he was tasered outside a convenience store in Bentinck Road, Forest Fields and was arrested on suspicion of murder.[3][2][4][8]

Victims

The first two people killed in the attacks were 19-year-old first-year students at the University of Nottingham,[9][10][5] one studying History and the other Medicine.[11] The third victim was a 65-year-old man, who was the owner of the van, which had been stolen from him on his way to work as a school caretaker. All the injured victims were wounded after they were run into at a bus stop; one was in a critical condition.[3][12] On 15 June, a Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust spokesman said the man left in a critical condition was now stable.[8]

Investigation

Police were said to be working closely with counter-terrorism police but keeping an "open mind" as to the motive.[13][14][5] Police said they believed that the perpetrator had acted alone.[15]

On 16 June 2023, the suspect was charged with three counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder.[16]

Perpetrator

The perpetrator was Valdo Calocane,[lower-alpha 1] a dual Guinea-Bissau/Portuguese national who was 31 at the time of the attacks.[18][17] He has settled status through his Portuguese citizenship. He graduated in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Nottingham in 2022.[19] The man came to the United Kingdom in 2007 with his parents and the family moved to Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire, Wales, where they were regular worshippers at the Calvary Church. He attended Sir Thomas Picton School and was academically successful.[20]

He did not have a criminal record and was not known to the security services, but had a history of mental health issues.[3] On 14 June, detectives applied to Nottingham Magistrates' Court and were granted another 36 hours to question him.[21] On 17 June, Calocane, of no fixed address, made his first appearance in court and was remanded in custody.[22][23][24]

In November 2023, Calocane denied three counts of murder but admitted to three counts of manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility and three further counts of attempted murder.[17]

Aftermath

On the evening of 13 June 2023, a vigil for the victims was held at St Peter's Church on St Peter's Square in the city centre, led by the Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham, Paul Williams.[25] Hundreds of students attended the vigil, leaving flowers and lighting candles for the victims. A moment of silence was held before the County Championship cricket match between Essex and Somerset, and the flag was flown at half mast with players wearing black armbands.[26]

On 14 June, thousands of members of the public gathered at the University of Nottingham's University Park Campus at a memorial vigil and were addressed by the fathers of the two student victims.[27][28] A further, city-wide vigil took place from 17:30 on 15 June, at Old Market Square, with Vice-Chancellor Professor Shearer West, the Lord Mayor Cllr Carole McCulloch and Leader of the Council Cllr David Mellen. To support people who wished to attend, transport on the city's buses were free of charge between 15:00 and 20:00.[29] Close family members of all three of the victims addressed the crowd and a minute's silence was observed at 18:00.[8]

Reactions

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Leader of the Opposition Keir Starmer all expressed condolences.[1] The Archbishop of Canterbury responded on Twitter "The terrible and tragic incident in Nottingham this morning. I join with everyone praying for all those affected, for grieving family and friends, and for the emergency services in their ongoing response." The Archbishop of York posted: "Pray for Nottingham today, for those who have died, for the injured, for those who mourn, and for those who care for them. Lord, have mercy."[25]

The Nottingham University Graduation Ball on the evening of 13 June was cancelled by student union officers due to the attacks.[30] Both student victims were members of sports teams, causing many athletes and clubs to respond to the attacks. The Bishop's Hull Cricket Club in Taunton asked for people to leave flowers and respects and the ex-England cricket captain Michael Vaughan paid tribute to one of the deceased. England Hockey, the Southgate Hockey Club, Woodford Wells Cricket Club, and Essex Cricket all offered their condolences for another of the deceased victims.[26] On 16 June, the England and Australia men's cricket teams wore black armbands as a mark of respect and observed a minute's silence, before the national anthems, at the opening day of The Ashes test series at Edgbaston. On 22 June, both countries' women's counterparts followed suit for the opening day of The Women's Ashes series, at Nottingham's Trent Bridge.[31]

On 15 June, Nottinghamshire Police confirmed that they had referred part of the incident to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), as a marked police car had followed the van driven by the suspect, before the van collided with two pedestrians.[21][8]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Calocane also goes by the name Adam Mendes[17]

References

  1. 1 2 "Nottingham attack: What we know so far". Sky News.
  2. 1 2 "Three people found dead in Nottingham". Al Jazeera. 13 June 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 McNamee, Michael Sheils; Gregory, James (13 June 2023). "Nottingham attacks: What we know so far". BBC News. Archived from the original on 13 June 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Watson, Greig (14 June 2023). "Nottingham attacks: CCTV shows suspect outside homeless hostel". BBC News. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 Watson, Greig; Bevis, Gavin (13 June 2023). "Nottingham: Students among three killed in Nottingham attacks". BBC News. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  6. ↑ Sawer, Patrick; Murphy, Michael (14 June 2023). "Nottingham suspect 'tried to get into hostel' before stabbing third victim". telegraph.co.uk.
  7. ↑ Dodd, Vikram; Murray, Jessica; Pidd, Helen; Grierson, Jamie (14 June 2023). "Nottingham in shock after three die in early-morning attacks". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Watson, Greig (15 June 2023). "Nottingham attacks: Police given more time to question suspect". BBC. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  9. ↑ @UniofNottingham (13 June 2023). "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" (Tweet). Retrieved 13 June 2023 – via Twitter.
  10. ↑ "Two University of Nottingham students among three killed in city centre attack". ITV News. 13 June 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  11. ↑ Badshah, Nadeem; Davies, Caroline; Thomas, Tobi; Mackay, Hamish (14 June 2023). "Nottingham attack: thousands join vigil outside Nottingham University students' union – as it happened". The Guardian.
  12. ↑ "Police release sequence of events leading up to 31-year-old man's arrest". nottinghamshire.police.uk. 14 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  13. ↑ "Nottingham: Counter-terror team on Nottingham case - but police keep 'open mind'". BBC News. Archived from the original on 13 June 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  14. ↑ "Nottingham attack: Police 'keeping an open mind' on motive, says Home Secretary". Sky News. 13 June 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  15. ↑ Lawless, Jill; Melley, Brian (13 June 2023). "Nottingham police say man fatally stabbed 3, stole van and ran down 3 more in English city". AP NEWS. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  16. ↑ "Nottingham attacks: Valdo Calocane charged with three counts of murder". BBC News. 16 June 2023.
  17. 1 2 3 "Nottingham attacks: Valdo Calocane admits killing three people". BBC News. 28 November 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  18. ↑ "Valdo Calocane in court over Nottingham stab attacks". BBC News. 17 June 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  19. ↑ Bevis, Gavin (16 June 2023). "Nottingham attacks: Suspect named as Valdo Amissão Mendes Calocane". BBC News. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  20. ↑ Evans, Martin; Sawer, Patrick; Hymas, Charles; Stephens, Max; Murphy, Michael (15 June 2023). "Nottingham attack suspect comes from 'hard-working' Christian family". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  21. 1 2 "Detectives given extra time to question murder suspect". nottinghamshire.police.uk. 15 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  22. ↑ Sherdley, Rebecca (17 June 2023). "Man appears in court charged with triple murder". NottinghamshireLive. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  23. ↑ Sherdley, Rebecca (17 June 2023). "Nottingham attacks live updates as Valdo Calocane appears in court charged with triple murder". Nottingham Post. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  24. ↑ Cobham, Tara (17 June 2023). "Man accused of triple murder appears in court". The Independent. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  25. 1 2 Ashworth, Pat (14 June 2023). "Vigil held in Nottingham for victims of attack". www.churchtimes.co.uk. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  26. 1 2 Joyce, Elizabeth (14 June 2023). "Nottingham attacks: The victims". BBC News. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  27. ↑ "'Look out for each other': Fathers of Nottingham attack victims speak at vigil". Sky News.
  28. ↑ Badshah, Nadeem; Davies, Caroline; Thomas, Tobi; Mackay, Hamish (14 June 2023). "Nottingham attack: thousands join vigil outside Nottingham University students' union – latest updates". theguardian.com. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  29. ↑ "Nottingham city vigil – 5:30pm today". nottingham.ac.uk. 15 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  30. ↑ Beck, Laycie (13 June 2023). "Grad ball cancelled as Nottingham students 'stand in solidarity' following city centre incident". Nottingham Post.
  31. ↑ Singh, Anirudh (22 June 2023). "Women's Ashes 2023: Here's why England and Australia players are wearing black armbands in the Trent Bridge Test". crickettimes.com. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
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