LOCAL police were “incredibly brave” in running towards the man who murdered three innocent men at Forbury Gardens in June 2020. 

One year on from the attack, Thames Valley Police and Crime commissioner Matthew Barber praised local officers for how they reacted to the rampage.

At around 6.45pm on Saturday, June 2020, witnesses saw a lone attacker targeting groups with a knife in Forbury Gardens. 

Reading Chronicle:

The first emergency call is put out at around 6.56pm, and the attacker, Khairi Saadallah, is arrested within five minutes. 

READ MORE: What happened to the Forbury Gardens attacker?

A video showed police detaining the perpetrator on the ground on Friar Street, near Forbury Gardens, after being chased by two police cars. 

An eyewitness who spoke to Sky News about Saadallah’s arrest, said they saw officers get out of the car to “rugby tackle” the attacker “in the middle of the road.”

And Matthew Barber, who was deputy police and crime commissioner this time last year, told the Chronicle he remembered being “extremely impressed” with the response from officers. 

Reading Chronicle: Matthew BarberMatthew Barber (Image: Other.)

He said: “There was an incident response from units in the town, and the force’s firearms officers were dispatched, the counterterrorism team was initiated and I know there were offers of support from other forces around should it have been needed.

READ MORE: Reporter recalls 'chilling' night for town on evening of attack

“Those came through in the first minutes of the incident taking place. 

“So, the response was incredibly good but I think what it highlighted for me was the importance of local officers because, yes, although the response from the counterterrorism network was very impressive, actually the first officers on the ground were the local shift who were on duty in Reading at the time.

Reading Chronicle:

“One of the first people to phone the incident through was, was an off-duty officer himself, and the offender was apprehended by a local team in Reading.

READ MORE: Who were the victims of the Forbury Gardens attack?

“I think it just highlights the importance of those local teams in policing. They did some incredibly brave work, running towards the offender not knowing what the risk to them would be, not knowing themselves the full picture as things were still emerging.

“So I think that response on the ground was incredibly impressive.”