Nottingham rampage 'attacker' went to the same university as two of his victims | The Sun
THE suspect arrested over the horrific knife and van rampage that left three people dead was an ex-University of Nottingham student, it can be revealed.
It comes as cops were given more time to question the 31-year-old man arrested on Tuesday after students Barnaby Webber and Grace Kumar – and school caretaker Ian Coates – were stabbed to death.
The man, believed to be of West African origin, was Tasered and cuffed after allegedly running at cops with a knife on Maples Street in the city at 5.30am.
Before his arrest he'd used a van to try to run over a man in the Milton Street area, who remains in a critical condition, and two other pedestrians on Sherwood Street.
Some 90 minutes earlier, at 4am, Barney was stabbed multiple times on Ilkeston Road, 300 yards from his halls, while walking home from a nightclub with Grace.
Grace screamed for help but was then attacked and also died as the knifeman fled the scene, according to witnesses.
The suspect remains in police custody after an extension to the normal 24-hour hold time was granted.
He will now be held for questioning for as long as four days, but is not believed to be cooperating with police.
PROBE
Nottinghamshire Police have referred themselves to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) after admitting "a marked police car followed behind the suspect’s van for a short distance before it collided with the two pedestrians".
The force was granted an extension to keep the suspect in custody for another 36 hours at around 3.15pm yesterday.
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Meanwhile the University of Nottingham has said it is "devastated" the suspect in the city's deadly rampage was a former student.
A spokesman added: "We are devastated that the suspect is a former University of Nottingham student.
"The police have confirmed that this is not believed to be connected with the attack.
"Our focus remains on supporting the family and friends of Barney and Grace and our wider community.
"You will understand that we are unable to comment on a live investigation, however we will continue to support the police in any way we can."
Cops have since released a timeline of events after speaking to witnesses and reviewing CCTV footage.
Terrified bystanders dialled 999 at 4.04am on Tuesday as the bodies of the two students were found.
Meanwhile, at 4.08am a man who matched the description of the suspect, was captured on CCTV trying to break into a homeless shelter four miles away on Mapperley Road.
He failed after a resident punched him as he tried to climb through an open window on the ground floor.
Mr Coates' body was found just yards away at 5.30am, after his van was used to ram into three people at a bus stop on Milton Street in the city centre.
And officers are now trying to piece together what happened in the hour between the horrific events.
They think the knifeman dragged Mr Coates, 65, out of the van before fatally stabbing him and jumping in the driver's seat.
Chief Constable Kate Meynell, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: "A man in his 50s was also found dead from knife injuries by a member of the public.
"We believe the suspect stole this man's van, drove it to Milton street and at members of the public. We are working to investigate the motive behind the attack."
Ian's son Lee Coates has said “I’m broken” and that he is “still in shock” after learning his dad was the third victim.
MENTAL HEALTH
The suspect is suspected to have a history of mental health problems, but who was legally living in the UK, according to The Times.
He does not have a criminal record, but was known to MI5 because he knocked on its door asking for help.
A witness to the first killings told the BBC: “I had the window open and I just heard some awful, blood-curdling screams."
The two students were murdered five minutes from home after walking back from an end-of-term party at the city’s Pryzm club.
They were sports-mad first-year undergraduates at the University of Nottingham.
Barnaby and Grace's dads fought back tears at a vigil last night as they told a "sea" of devastated pupils to "look after each other".
Barnaby's dad David and Grace's father Dr Sanjoy thanked everyone for paying tribute at the vigil at the University of Nottingham.
Grace’s tearful mum Sinead was comforted by Barnaby’s mother Emma as the heartbreaking vigil went on.
Barnaby's devastated family have described their “complete devastation” at the “senseless murder of our son”.
His parents David and Emma Webber added that he was a “beautiful, brilliant, bright young man, with everything in life to look forward to”.
Barney, who has a younger brother Charles, was a talented hockey player and celebrated winning the under-14 county championship with schoolmates in 2018.
Grace played hockey for Southgate in London and had made it into the England squad for her age group.
She was following in her dad Dr Sanjoy Kumar's footsteps and studying to be a doctor at the university.
Dr Sanjoy saved victims of a gang stabbing in Chingford, Essex, in 2009.
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He helped move three knifed teens, aged 15, 16 and 17 to a makeshift trauma room in his surgery before 999 crews arrived.
On Monday, hundreds of students went to Pryzm for its Quids In! Imma Student Get Me Out Of Here night until 4am.
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