Police are working to piece together details of the knife and van attack that killed two 19-year-old students and another man in the English city of Nottingham on Wednesday, as friends and family remember the two younger victims as talented athletes with a passion for life. .

University of Nottingham Student, barnaby webber And Grace KumarFormerly stabbed to death in a street near student housing before dawn on Tuesday.

Police said a 31-year-old suspect also killed a man in his 50s more than a mile away. he stole his truck and ran over a group of pedestrians. Three people were injured, one seriously, in the hit and run.

The police subdued the suspect with a Taser nearby and detained him on suspicion of murder. Police said they believed the attacker acted alone and were cooperating with counter-terrorism officers to try to establish a motive. The attack has not been classified as terrorism by the authorities, and police are investigating issues including the suspect’s mental health.

“This is a horrific and tragic incident that has claimed the lives of three people,” said Chief Constable Kate Meynell.

The BBC and other British media reported that the suspect, whose name has not been released, is from West Africa and has lived legally in Britain for many years and has no criminal record.

The rioting raged for around 90 minutes across a large swath of Nottingham, a university town of about 350,000 about 175 kilometers (110 miles) north of London.

The University of Nottingham Prom scheduled for Tuesday evening was canceled and many students gathered to light candles for the victims during the vigil at St Peter’s Church.

Webber’s parents and brother said he was “a beautiful, intelligent, and brilliant young man, with everything he could hope for in life.”

“A talented and passionate cricketer who is thrilled to have been selected for his varsity cricket team,” the family from Taunton, in southwest England, said in a statement.

“Total devastation is not enough to describe our grief and loss at the senseless killing of our son.”

Kumar also played cricket and played field hockey for the England youth team. Woodford Wells Cricket Club, near London, said he was a “highly competitive, talented and dedicated cricketer and hockey player” who was “fun, outgoing and brilliant”.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called it a shocking incident and asked police to be given more time to investigate the crime.

“My thoughts are with the injured and the families and loved ones of those who have lost their lives”Sunak said.

(with information from AP)

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