A mechanical engineering graduate has been charged with murdering two students and a school caretaker during an early morning rampage in Nottingham.
Valdo Calocane, 31, has been charged with the murder of Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber, both 19, and Ian Coates, 65.
The students were stabbed to death in Ilkeston Road around 4 a.m. as they walked home from a nightclub and Coates was attacked later in Magdala road.
Calocane is due to appear at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on Saturday.
Calocane, who is understood to have been born in Guinea-Bissau but came to Britain as a child, has also been charged with three counts of attempted murder.
That followed an incident in which Coates’s van struck several pedestrians in Milton Street on Tuesday morning.
Police Officer Had Sight of Van for ‘Less Than a Minute’
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said the driver of a police car was following the van for “less than a minute” before it collided with the pedestrians.A statement from the IOPC said: “We have viewed dashcam footage from the police car and can confirm the officer, in a single-crewed vehicle en route to a linked incident, had sight of the van for less than a minute before the collision in the South Sherwood Street area. The officer immediately stopped to provide first aid.”
It added, “We will be contacting the two people injured in the collision to wish them a speedy recovery and advise them that we have decided to investigate this specific police interaction.”
“Our investigation will consider whether the actions of the van driver were influenced by the police car’s presence shortly before he collided with the two pedestrians,” the watchdog added.
Nottinghamshire Police Chief Constable Kate Meynell said, “These charges are a significant development and arise as a result of our thorough investigation into these horrific incidents that occurred in our city.”
“Our thoughts remain with the families and friends of all those affected by these attacks, and we will continue to provide support and reassurance,” she added.
‘Deep Emotion’ Surrounding Incident
The chief constable said, “We are keenly aware of the deep emotion being felt surrounding these tragic events and the high level of interest, not only in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire but also across the whole country.”“However, posting prejudicial information online about an active case could amount to contempt of court and, in the most serious cases, have the potential to cause the collapse of a trial,” she warned.
Police revealed the suspect is a former University of Nottingham student, but said “this is not believed to be connected with the attack.”
Calocane, who is understood to have grown up in the Welsh town of Haverfordwest, graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering last summer.
O’Malley-Kumar, Webber, and Coates were honoured at the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Friday.
Cricketers from both England and Australia wore black armbands to “show solidarity” and there was a moment’s silence held before the national anthems.
