Khairi Saadallah: Brother of terrorist warned police he could ‘harm himself or others’ day before he killed three, inquest told
The brother of a terrorist who killed three people in a park in Reading rang police the day before the attack, warning he “could harm himself or others”, an inquest has been told.
Khairi Saadallah stabbed to death three men who were meeting in Forbury Gardens, during a brief relaxation in lockdown rules in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
James Furlong, Joseph Ritchie-Bennett and David Wails were killed and three others injured during a 30-second rampage on 20 June 2020.
Saadallah, who was handed a whole life tariff in 2021, had viewed material on the September 11 attacks and was heard yelling “Allahu Akbar” [god is great] and “God accept my jihad”.
At an inquest into the deaths, Saadallah’s brother, Aiman, said Saadallah had visited him on the afternoon before the attack and told him he had “left me something to remember him by”.
“He asked if he could have a shower and asked me for a prayer mat. Instead of praying he had a joint,” he said in a statement.
“He told me about a movie scene in which he was surrounded by jihadists with a bomb strapped to his chest. He said he was going to heaven and there were virgins there waiting for him.
“I said it was not funny. I lost patience and went upstairs.”
Later, Aiman, a care worker in his mid-30s, said Saadallah showed an “immediate change to an angry man”, adding: “I had never seen him like this before.” The brothers had lived together for around a year.
Aiman added: “I rang the police and said he could harm himself or others although I did not believe he would hurt others.”
Officers visited Saadallah that evening but he dismissed concerns about him, the inquest heard.
After the attack, Aiman found that Saadallah had used razor blades to shave off his body hair when he had a shower, described by police as part of a “ritual cleansing”.
James Furlong (L), Joe Ritchie-Bennett (C) and David Wails (R) were killed during Saadallah’s 30-second rampage in 2020
‘Boy soldier’
Michael Haynes, a counsellor who worked with Saadallah on drug, alcohol and mental health issues, said he had struggled to get help for Saadallah.
He said Saadallah described himself as a “boy soldier” who had fought in the Libyan civil war against Colonel Gaddafi in 2011.
In a statement, Mr Haynes told the inquest: “He calls himself a boy soldier. I don’t know how old he was, but probably 15 years old.
“He drove trucks, he saw lots of death, and when Colonel Gaddafi was ousted these people turned out to be Muslim fundamentalists.
“Because Khairi didn’t grow his beard and all the rest of it, they started picking on him. He got an electric shock, tortured and a bloke firing in a darkened room where Khairi was and other stuff.”
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Saadallah arrived in Britain in around 2015, claiming asylum, and lived initially in Manchester where he suffered from mental health problems, became homeless and got involved with a Somalian gang who attacked him with hammers, leaving scars on his head.
His father was an antiques dealer who was said to be very successful and “had a lot of money” until he fell out with the Gaddafi regime.
His mother was described as a doctor, possibly a psychiatrist, but the couple had split up and lived in different cities in Libya.
Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
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Pic: LNP
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.
Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Officers guard one of the crime scenes
Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.
“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.
“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”
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