Following the coroner’s decision that’significant breaches’ by the police precipitated the assault, the families of the three men killed in the terror incident in Reading expressed their ‘disgust’.
On June 20, 2020, in Reading’s Forbury Gardens, Libyan asylum seeker Khairi Saadallah went on a knife spree. One of the victim’s fathers, Gary Furlong, said, “our boys did not stand a chance.”
Judge Coroner Sir Adrian Fulford stated throughout the hearing that the failures of several agencies to halt Saadallah were a contributing factor in the killings.
As he fatally stabbed friends James Furlong, 36, Dr. David Wails, 49, and Joseph Ritchie-Bennett, 39, and hurt three others, Saadallah yelled, “Allahu akhbar.”
After entering a guilty plea to three counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder, the murderer was given a whole-life sentence at the Old Bailey in January 2021.
James Furlong’s father, Gary Furlong,In response to the Judge Coroner’s findings, he declared that ‘nearly all state authorities’ that dealt with their assailant, James’ mother Jan Furlong, outside of the Old Bailey, had let the three victims down. Following the completion of the inquest, her husband, Mr. Furlong, expressed’very little faith’ that an incident such as this won’t occur again.
In June 2020, in a Reading park, friends James Furlong, 36, Dr. David Wails, 49, and Joseph Ritchie-Bennett, 39, were fatally stabbed by Khairi Saadallah (shown), who also injured three others while yelling “Allahu akhbar.”
Joe Ritchie-Bennett, James Furlong, and David Wails, from left to right.June 2020 saw Saadallah fatally knife the three men.
James Furlong’s father, Mr. Furlong, responded to the Judge Coroner’s decision by claiming that “virtually all state agencies” that handled the attacker had let the three victims down.
“Our boys did not stand a chance,” he continued.
Upon the conclusion of the inquest, Mr. Furlong expressed’very little confidence’ that an incident of this nature won’t occur again.
“The system is not the problem,” he declared. The individuals running the system are the issue. And that penetrates all the way through from the bottom.
The absence of oversight has been evident at every stage of the procedure.
The risk of (Saadallah) turning into an extremist and a ‘lone-wolf’ attacker was clearly warned about. Demoralized, confused, and disillusioned by the agencies’ inability to properly communicate, evaluate the danger, and safeguard the public, we sat in court.
It is evident to us that the organizations tasked with the boys’ protection failed to do their job.
“We can’t keep hearing from agencies that “lessons will be learned.” We now require an explanation of “what actions will be taken” by the relevant government entities.
Mr. Furlong said he was moved to tears at the end and that there was a minute’s quiet observed in court. “It was a moving tribute by the judge and something we’ll never ever forget,” the man stated.
Andrew Wails, the brother of Dr. David Wails, expressed his anger and sickness over the “failings of the state exposed by this inquest.” We have been let down by these state agencies. The inability to stop this attack has ruined our lives.
The inquest’s revelation of the state’s shortcomings, according to Dr. Wails’s brother Andrew Wails, “sicken and disgust me.”
We have been let down by these state agencies. Our lives have been ruined because we were unable to stop this attack.
“The state utterly failed in its responsibility to recognize the threats he posed and to safeguard the general public from them.” Along with my brother David and his buddies James and Joe, a vicious terrorist also attempted to kill three other people. They had little opportunity to protect themselves as they sat in Forbury Gardens when he attacked them from behind.