Nottingham: Students speak of grief after pair killed in city

The period after the summer exams is normally one of the happiest times to be a student, with balls and celebrations to mark the end of years of hard work and studying.

In Nottingham, a city with a strong student population, that atmosphere of peace and joy was shattered on Tuesday morning, as three people were killed.

Two of those killed - Grace O'Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber - were 19-year-olds attending the University of Nottingham, and both talented sportspeople who represented a number of teams.

School caretaker Ian Coates has been named as the third victim of a series of linked attacks in the city.

Grieving fellow students say it has brought a tragic end to the academic year.

Alice Cobb, from Surrey, is studying biochemistry and genetics at the university.

The 22-year-old said she "didn't leave the house" on Tuesday after learning of the attacks.

"I was so, so scared yesterday," she said.

"I just sat watching the television and thinking about the terrible things that happened.

"Honestly, I'm glad to be going home and getting out of here.

"What's happened is shocking and totally unexpected - [universities] are close communities and this has been awful for everyone."

History student Jack Ryan, 21, from London, said he and his friends "are struggling to take it all in".

"Yesterday we were all being really cautious because there were whispers going round and police everywhere and it didn't feel safe," he said.

"I felt pretty rattled but it feels a bit more normal today.

"You really feel for the victims, but it's scary to think it could have been me or my friends."

Libby Taylor is in her third year studying sport and exercise science, and lives near Nottingham.

"In all the time I've been here nothing this terrible has happened," the 20-year-old said.

"We always walk back from clubs late and never really feel unsafe or that worried.

"What happened seemed so random and you think that could have been me. It's so scary.

"[Nottingham] has been a great place [to study], but this will be something, right at the end of my time here, that I'll remember in the worst way."

Holly Young, a 20-year-old pharmacy student from Brighton, said she learned about what had happened when her mother called her on Tuesday morning.

"She was really worried because at that point nobody knew exactly what had happened - just that it was something really bad," she said.

"At first it didn't feel real, but then it really hit me through the day and when they named the two students.

"[Mr Webber] looked really familiar and I reckon I'd seen him about on campus - that makes you realise how close to home this was."

Josh Self, a 21-year-old architecture student from London, said "it doesn't feel great around here".

"Yesterday everyone was really on edge," he said.

"You could see people were trying to walk around in groups because that felt a bit safer.

"It looks like an isolated incident but it's still not what you expect or want to happen in a student city like Nottingham where it usually feels pretty safe."

One student, who wished to remain anonymous, said she had been in the same nightclub, Pryzm, as Ms O'Malley-Kumar and Mr Webber before the attack.

"I was walking home from there, just like they were, and it's terrifying to think it could have been me who was attacked," she said.

"I feel so sorry for their friends and families."

Another student said the deaths had shaken their image of the area.

"I've walked down Ilkeston Road so many times late at night and felt totally safe," the 21-year-old said.

"I don't think I'll feel like that from now on."

The University of Nottingham students' union, which cancelled a graduation ball on Tuesday following the attacks, is hosting a vigil later at 16:00 BST at the Djanogly Terrace, outside the Portland Building.

It has also published details of support services on its website.

"We stand in solidarity with all our students and the wider community, and our thoughts are with the families and friends of those who lost their lives and the injured, alongside those directly and indirectly affected by the unfolding of these terrible events," a spokesperson said.

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