Britain stabbing rampage to be treated as terrorist attack

Three people were fatally stabbed and "a number of people" needed hospital treatment, said Neil Basu, the assistant commissioner at New Scotland Yard.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the rampage "appalling."

A 25-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder soon after the attacks. "From our enquiries so far, officers have found nothing to suggest that there was anyone else involved in this attack and presently we are not looking for anyone else in relation to this incident," Basu said.

Neither Thames Valley Police nor Scotland Yard named the arrested man nor did police offer a motive for the attack. British media, citing unnamed security sources, reported that the attacker was from Libya. The Telegraph newspaper said he had arrived several years ago in Britain as a refugee following Libya's civil war.

The attacks took place at around 7 p.m. in the Forbury Gardens in the center of Reading, a city 40 miles west of London.

Lawrence Wort, 20, a personal trainer, described the attacks to the Guardian newspaper.

"The park was pretty full, a lot of people sat around drinking with friends, when one lone person walked through, suddenly shouted some unintelligible words and went around a large group of around 10, trying to stab them," Wort said.

"He stabbed three of them, severely in the neck, and under the arms, and then turned and started running toward me, and we turned and started running," he said. "When he realized that he couldn't catch us, he tried to stab another group sitting down. He got one person in the back of the neck and then when he realized everyone was starting to run, he ran out the park."

Police initially said that the motive for the attack was still unclear but by Sunday morning Thames Valley Police said it was being treated a terrorist incident.

Several British news outlets said that the suspect's mental health was being investigated.

"Incidents of this nature are very rare, though I know that will be of little comfort to those involved and understand the concern that this incident will have caused amongst our local community," said Chief Constable John Campbell. 

Britain's current terrorism threat level is "substantial," meaning an attack is a strong possibility. It was last set at "critical," the highest level, in 2017, a year when the country had five terrorist attacks.

Thames Valley Police urged people not to share graphic videos circulating on social media that showed members of the emergency services tending to bloodied people on the ground.

Earlier Saturday, a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest took place in the same area. The police stressed that the attack had nothing to do with the rally.

"There have been some reports that this incident was linked to the Black Lives Matter protest which took place in Reading earlier this afternoon," Hunter said. "I can confirm that this incident is not connected. It occurred around three hours after the protest had concluded."

Matt Rodda, the local member of Parliament, told Sky News that the incident was "absolutely dreadful" and that he was unaware of any specific threats to the area. He said "a number of people were stabbed and a number of people quite seriously injured ... This is something that is quite unheard of in Reading."

Kit Malthouse, the government minister for crime and policing, tweeted that it was a "horrific, dreadful incident."