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The ‘Lone Actor’ Terrorism Attacks No One Can Prevent
Three dead and three more injured in a sudden assault.
On a warm and pleasant evening in June 2020, dozens of people were relaxing in Forbury Gardens, a park in Reading, England. People were sitting on the grass, in small groups of friends. Some were drinking a beer or a glass of wine: Some were having a picnic. England was gradually coming out of Covid-19 lockdown, and people were enjoying their renewed freedom. There had been a ‘Black Lives Matter’ event in the park earlier that day, and some people in the park had been in attendance.
At about 7 pm, Khariri Saadallah was walking along the path through the park. With no warning, Saadallah ran up to a group of four men, sat together, and stabbed each of them in turn. He stabbed two in the neck, killing them instantly. The third was stabbed once in the back and was to die soon after. All three were declared dead at the scene. The fourth man in this group was stabbed in the head but survived.
Saadallah then ran on to another group and stabbed two more men. By this time, people were starting to react, to get up, to shout and run. Saadallah broke off his attack and ran away. People who were there said the attack lasted about two minutes.
