Emotional 999 Calls Detail Nottingham Stabbings
A witness became emotional and told a 999 operator,
"my God that's awful"while reporting that students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar had been stabbed in Nottingham, a public inquiry into the attacks has heard.
The 19-year-olds were killed by Valdo Calocane before he fatally stabbed 65-year-old Ian Coates and attempted to kill three others on 13 June 2023.
Witness Calls Played at Inquiry
On Thursday, the inquiry was presented with recordings from two unnamed witnesses who contacted emergency services to report the attacks on Barnaby and Grace on Ilkeston Road.
One of the earliest calls received by Nottinghamshire Police began with the caller stating:
"There's been a stabbing on Ilkeston Road. There's somebody lying in the street. I think they're dead."
The male caller expressed his distress, saying
"oh, that was awful"repeatedly as his emotions intensified throughout the call.
He informed the operator that he observed a black man dressed entirely in black, carrying a black bag, moving up Ilkeston Road towards the town centre.
The man described an injured individual, appearing to be in his 20s, lying in the middle of the road.
He said:
"Blood all over their chest,"and reiterated,
"My God, that's awful."
The caller, who stated he was observing from his bedroom window approximately 500 meters away, added:
"I heard lots of screaming and looked out of the window. I think he's dead, he's not moved a muscle."
When asked if there was only one victim, the caller confirmed that a girl had also been stabbed.
He said:
"She was sat in a driveway of one of the eco-houses over the road but I think she's wandered off down the road. She was bleeding from the stomach. He stabbed both of them."
The caller began to cry as the operator inquired about the girl's clothing.
Additional 999 Call Describes Scene
The series of 999 calls were played as Superintendent Simon Allardice gave evidence on the 12th day of the inquiry, chaired by retired senior judge Deborah Taylor KC.
In another call made shortly after 04:00 BST, a woman told an operator there were two people
"in the road."
She said:
"I don't know if they've been stabbed. A girl and a guy. I think they've been robbed or something.
I heard them scream and I went there and I looked out the window and I saw someone. There's two people lying down there."
She added:
"There's a guy and a girl. They're not too old. I don't know if they're OK. Could you please come? They're lying down on the road right now."
The caller reported that the offender had
"walked off"and described him as wearing a hoodie.
She said:
"He's gone. I can't see him anywhere in the road. But there's a person lying down right there. He's still there."
She also expressed fear about going outside alone:
"I'm afraid to go out there alone right now."
The woman informed the operator that she had filmed what she witnessed.
Inquiry Chair Views Footage but Does Not Play It
Earlier, chairwoman Taylor informed the inquiry that she had viewed footage of the
"brutal attack"on the students, but clarified that this footage would not be played during the inquiry.
Superintendent Allardice added that some 999 calls made that night were lost due to a
"technical issue"resulting in them not being recorded.
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