Man charged with triple murder after deadly knife rampage that shocked Nottingham

Students Barnaby Weller and Grace O’Malley-Kumar and caretaker Ian Coates were stabbed to death in early morning attacks

A man has been arrested on a triple murder charge after a deadly knife rampage that left three dead in Nottingham city centre.

Valdo Calocane, 31, of no fixed address, was tasered and arrested after allegedly knifing 19-year-old students Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar on Ilkeston Road, before stabbing a school caretaker Ian Coates, 65, on Magdala Road and stealing his van, in the early hours of Tuesday.

Police believe that vehicle was later used to hit and seriously injure three other victims on Milton Street, near the city’s Theatre Royal.

Barnaby Webber’s mother Emma paid tribute to her “beautiful boy” who had been studying first year history (PA)

Calcocane who has been under police questioning for three days, was revealed to be a former engineering student, who had graduated from the University of Nottingham in 2022.

He has also been charged with three counts of attempted murder, in relation to the three victims who were injured when they were hit by a van in the city centre. Two are now in a serious but stable condition in hospital while a third has been discharged.

Calocane is due to appear at Nottingham Magistrates Court on Saturday.

Emergency services were called at 4.04am on Tuesday to reports that two people were found with stab injuries outside Mario’s takeaway in a popular student area of the city.

Mr Webber and Ms O’Malley-Kumar were pronounced dead at the scene, with the University of Nottingham stating they were “shocked and devastated” by the news.

Tributes have poured in for the pair who were both talented athletes, with thousands attending a vigil at the university’s campus to lay flowers and light candles.

On Thursday evening, Nottingham residents gathered at Market Square for an hour-long vigil with speeches made by the families of the three victims and local leaders calling for unity.

Described as “a truly wonderful and beautiful young lady”, Grace had hopes of becoming a GP and had been a member of the U16 and U18 England hockey squad. Barnaby had been a keen cricket player and had been in his first year of studying history, taking a particular interest in geopolitics.

Thousands of students attended a vigil in memory of Barnaby and Grace, who were both talented athletes (PA)

The third victim, 65-year-old Ian Coates, had been on his way to work as a site manager at Huntingdon Academy when he was attacked and stabbed to death.

Paying tribute, his son James Coates described him as “everyone’s friend”, who had worked with underprivileged children and was a “die-hard” Nottingham Forest fan.

The early morning attacks led to the closure of several streets throughout the city centre, causing severe disruption to public transport networks.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman visited Council House and read floral tributes to the victims (PA)

Announcing the charges on Friday afternoon, Chief Constable Kate Meynell, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “This has been an incredibly sad time for our city and county, and we stand united with our communities as we come to terms with the effects of what has happened.

“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.”