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A second victim of the Reading stabbing attack is American citizen named locally as Joe Ritchie-Bennett.
He was a friend of James Furlong, the only other victim to have been named so far, according to tributes posted on social media.
Mr Ritchie-Bennett’s Facebook page lists him as originally from Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, but he had been living in Reading.
The Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper reported that he was 39 and had moved to England from the US around 15 years ago.
His brother, Robert Ritchie, told the newspaper the family had been left “heartbroken and beside ourselves” after hearing of his death.
Show all 9 1 /9Reading Terror Attack: In pictures Reading Terror Attack: In pictures READING, ENGLAND - JUNE 21: A view of the outside of the top floor of a block of flats on the Basingstoke Road on June 21, 2020 in Reading, England. A lone attacker targeted groups of people socialising in Forbury Gardens stabbing them in the neck in what police are treating as a terror incident. Three people have died and three more who were injured are in a serious condition. Officers from Counter Terrorism Policing South East (CTSPE) raided a block of flats in the city last night. A 25-year-old male Libyan National is in police custody. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Getty Images
Reading Terror Attack: In pictures Flowers are laid close to the scene where three people were stabbed in Forbury Gardens in Reading, Britain, 21 June 2020. British Police have now declared the stabbing incident where three people were killed and other three seriously injured in a park in Reading, a terrorist attack. The 25-year-old man was arrested at the scene in Forbury Gardens.
EPA
Reading Terror Attack: In pictures Police officers standing guard outside the corridor of a top-floor flat in Basingstoke Road, Reading, where the suspect in the Forbury Gardens stabbings was detained. The suspect in the Reading stabbings is a Libyan asylum seeker and mental health is being considered a major factor in the incident, a security source has told the PA news agency. PA Photo. Picture date: Sunday June 21, 2020.
PA
Reading Terror Attack: In pictures A block of flats in Basingstoke Road, Reading, where the suspect in the Forbury Gardens stabbings was detained. The suspect in the Reading stabbings is a Libyan asylum seeker and mental health is being considered a major factor in the incident, a security source has told the PA news agency. PA Photo. Picture date: Sunday June 21, 2020.
PA
Reading Terror Attack: In pictures Police officers place flowers left by people outside the police cordon nearer the scene of multiple stabbings in Reading, Britain, June 21,
Reuters
Reading Terror Attack: In pictures An overview of the scene where three people were stabbed in Forbury Gardens in Reading, Britain, 21 June 2020. British Police have now declared the stabbing incident where three people were killed and other three seriously injured in a park in Reading, a terrorist attack. The 25-year-old man was arrested at the scene in Forbury Gardens. EPA/ANDY RAIN
EPA
Reading Terror Attack: In pictures Police officers carry flowers left by people next to the police cordon at the scene of multiple stabbings in Reading, Britain, June 21, 2020.
Reuters
Reading Terror Attack: In pictures Flowers are laid close to the scene where three people were stabbed in Forbury Gardens in Reading, Britain, 21 June 2020. British Police have now declared the stabbing incident where three people were killed and other three seriously injured in a park in Reading, a terrorist attack. The 25-year-old man was arrested at the scene in Forbury Gardens.
EPA
Reading Terror Attack: In pictures Thames Valley Police Chief Constable John Campbell talks to the media next to the police cordon at the scene of multiple stabbings in Reading, Britain, June 21, 2020.
REUTERS
US ambassador to the UK Woody Johnson confirmed an American citizen was killed in the Reading atrocity.
He said: “I offer my deepest condolences to the families of those killed in the attack on June 20.
(Joe Ritchie-Bennett/Facebook) ”To our great sorrow, this includes an American citizen. Our thoughts are with all those affected.
"We condemn the attack absolutely and have offered our assistance to British law enforcement.''
Three people died and three others were seriously injured when a man with a knife attacked people in Forbury Gardens, Reading, on Saturday evening.
A 25-year-old Libyan man, named as Khairi Saadallah , was arrested under the Terrorism Act over the attack.
It emerged on Sunday that the suspect in the attack briefly came to the attention of MI5 last year but information provided did not meet the threshold for investigation.
Counter-terrorism officers are continuing to investigate the stabbings, with mental health understood to be considered as a major factor in the incident, but police have said they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the attack.
Boris Johnson said he was “appalled and sickened” by the incident and said he would “not hesitate to take action” if there were lessons to be learned from it.
Additional reporting by PA
