London. An Indian-origin medical student was among the victims of a series of knife attacks in Nottingham, central England. She was a hockey and cricket player. Three people died in these attacks on Tuesday. The name of the student is Gracy Omale Kumar.
According to information, 19-year-old Gracie O’Malley Kumar was with her cricketer friend Barnaby Webber at the University of Nottingham when the assailant attacked them with a knife in the early hours of Tuesday. Both died in this incident. The identity of the attacker has not been revealed.
According to Nottinghamshire Police, the 31-year-old suspect has been taken into custody. The assailant stabbed a man in his 60s to death and also tried to steal his van and run over three people who are still in hospital.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said at the beginning of the session of the House of Commons on Wednesday that yesterday’s incident in Nottingham was shocking. Our thoughts are with the families of the injured and the deceased.
Home Minister Suella Braverman later made a statement to brief parliament about the horrific incident and confirmed it was not being treated as a terrorist attack at this stage. He said that I can tell the House that the police is working diligently to establish the full facts and provide assistance to all affected.
The Home Secretary said he had no preconceived notions about the motives for these attacks at the moment, but I can confirm that Nottinghamshire Police’s counter-terrorist police are assisting.
Braverman said a knife was used in the attack, two of the victims were students at the University of Nottingham and the third was Ian Coates, a caretaker of a local school who was in his 60s and the owner of the van.
Earlier, Chief Constable Katie Meynell of Nottinghamshire Police said in a statement: “We are free from bias and are working with counter-terrorism police to establish the facts.”
He said a team of officers is investigating the circumstances surrounding these incidents and will continue to collect evidence in the coming days.
Gracy was the daughter of Sanjoy Kumar, an Indian-origin doctor living in London. Sanjoy Kumar is described as the hero doctor who saved the lives of some teenagers who were injured in a knife attack in 2009.
Gracie’s family said they were devastated by his death. Can’t express the sadness in words. Gracy’s inspiration was her father Dr. Sanjoy Kumar.
Shearer West, vice-chancellor of the university, said she was a talented player who had played international hockey for the England hockey team at under-16 and under-18 levels and also played for the Essex under-15 women’s cricket team.
Sports body England Hockey said that we are all deeply saddened by the news of the tragic death of Gracy Kumar in Nottingham on Tuesday.
The Woodford Wells Cricket Club in Essex described Gracy Kumar as a fiercely competitive, talented and dedicated cricketer.
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