15 June 2023 , 21:32
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The suspect in the Nottingham attacks that saw two students and a school caretaker dead was a "polite churchgoer from a good family", according to a neighbour.
Portuguese speaker Valdo Amissão Mendes Calocane completed his degree at the University of Nottingham in August last year, having won a place as a mature student in 2019.
Calocane grew up in Haverfordwest, West Wales, where neighbours said he was a polite churchgoer from a good family.
He attended the Calvary Church along with his carer dad, nurse mum and two younger siblings.
Neighbour Marlene Raymond, 55, said: “I can picture the eldest boy now in his school uniform, he was very smart and handsome.
Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him
“He was very bright, all three children are - they are a nice family and have been lovely neighbours for years.
“I haven’t seen the oldest boy for some time - since he went away to college or uni.
“They are very clever, all of them are polite and intelligent children.”
Victim Barnaby Webber who was killed in the Nottingham attackA neighbour of a house raided on Tuesday said he recognised Calocane from CCTV images.
Kamran Kahn, 41, said the suspected murderer used to spend time with an ex partner at the house where armed officers smashed into.
He told the Mirror. “All the time he would just sit out the back with his top off, smoking and drinking.
“He was seeing a girl who used to live there and he’d spend a few days there, here and there. He was there quite a bit.
“I recognised him straight away when footage of him came out trying to get into the residential home.”
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He said Calocane spent time at the property two summers ago: “I never said much."
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The comments came as the families of the victims of the Nottingham rampage united in grief on Thursday as the defiant city fell silent in their memory.
Barnaby Webber’s devastated mum Emma told 5,000 people in Old Market Square to “hold no hate” as she paid tribute to her son.
She was joined by Sinead Kumar, whose daughter Grace O’Malley-Kumar, 19, died alongside her fellow student on Tuesday.
Grace Kumar was a hockey player in the first team (Facebook)The family of school caretaker Ian Coates, who was stabbed to death in the attack as he drove to work, also attended the vigil.
Emma, from Taunton, Somerset, described her son’s killer as a “monstrous individual” - but bravely said “he will not define us”.
She added: “I know he will receive the retribution that he deserves.
"However, this evil person is just that. He is just a person.
“Please hold no hate that relates to any colour, sex or religion.”
Ian Coates was a site manager at Huntingdon Academy in the city (Miro Photography)
Grace Kumar, 19 was a rising star in the hockey world, who played for England's U16s and U18sNottingham fell silent for one minute at 6pm, with thousands gathering in the city’s main square.
Emma Webber was accompanied by her husband David, who placed his hand on his wife’s shoulder, and their son Charlie.
She said: “We stand here and we feel your love. We are united in grief and shock and disbelief.
“One day we will smile again, but it will take time.
“Barney is more than a victim of a senseless murder. He loved pesto pasta but hated cottage pie.
The family of Grace Kumar at a vigil in the town square (Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)“He was obsessed with aeroplanes and he still carried a dream of being a pilot in the RAF one day.”
Addressing Barnaby directly, she said: “My beautiful, beautiful boy. You have mine, your dad and your brother’s heart forever.”
Emma embraced Grace’s mum Sinead before she gave an equally heart-wrenching speech.
Sinead, accompanied by husband Sanjoy, described her daughter as her “treasure”.
“My beautiful baby girl wasn’t just beautiful on the outside, you must have seen her pictures, she was so beautiful on the inside,” she said.
“She wanted very few things in life, she wanted to be a doctor, she wanted to play hockey with her pals, she wanted to have fun.
“All they were doing was walking home, just walking home after a night-out.
The family of Barnaby Webber speak at a vigil in the town square (Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)“It just is truly so unfair but I’ll echo what my husband said - be kind to each other, look after each other, don’t have hate in your hearts.
“Say prayers for my baby girl.
“The magnitude of the grief here reflects the magnitude of the love, the love we had for her.”
Her husband said: “We were four and we are now three, and the same for Barney’s family.
“I speak to you as a broken-hearted father. I loved my Grace more than I loved anything.”
The family of Ian Coates pictured after speaking at a vigil held in Old Market Square, Nottingham city centre (Joseph Raynor/ Nottingham Post)He closed his speech with the words: “Imagine a world of just love and no violence. Just imagine that world.”
Grace’s brother James paid tribute to his older sister as he urged people to “cherish every moment” spent with loved ones.
He told the crowd: “Grace wasn’t only just a sister to me, she was a best friend of mine, my mother, my father, all her friends and all her family.
“If there’s only one message that comes out of this, I urge you all to cherish every moment you spend with your loved ones.
“You just never know when it will end.”
Councillor David Mellen speaks as he attends a vigil in Old Market Square, Nottingham, after 19-year-old students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, and school caretaker Ian Coates, 65, were stabbed to deat (PA)Ian Coates’ devastated son James promised support to the families of Grace and Barnaby.
Wearing a shirt of his beloved Nottingham Forest, he thanked everybody for the “kind words” that have poured in about his father.
“It feels like he’s touched a lot of hearts over the years, more than what we assumed and knew that he had,” he said.
“It’s been really nice and heartwarming to see people come out and talk about how he was when they were younger and how he’s helped them.
“Dad was an avid fisherman, he loved his family and he also loved his Forest. You Reds.”
Detectives are continuing to quiz Calocane, 31, over the three murders.
He graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering from the same university as tragic Grace and Barnaby less than a year ago.
Nottingham Murder vigil in the town square tonight after this weeks triple murders (Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)University bosses said they were “devastated” to learn the suspect in the gruesome slayings was a former student.
Police do not believe the fact he graduated from the same university Grace and Barnaby attended is relevant to the attack.
Detectives were granted a further 36 hours to question Calocane after applying to magistrates for an extension on Wednesday.
Calocane's family are said to worship at the Calvary Church in Haverfordwest which is less than a quarter of a mile from their home.
Calocane lived in several student properties during his three years at the University of Nottingham.
One block of flats is a stone’s throw from where Grace and Barnaby were stabbed to death.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman looks at flowers on the steps of Nottingham Council House (PA)It is not clear what Calocane did between graduating last August and his arrest on Tuesday morning.
Barnaby and Grace were found critically injured in Ilkeston Road at 4am.
Shortly afterwards, school caretaker Ian was brutally stabbed to death in Mapperley Park, a mile and a half away.
It's alleged the suspect stole his Vauxhall Vivaro van and used it to mow down three pedestrians in Nottingham city centre. Two remain in hospital in a stable condition, with one now discharged from hospital.
One of those hit by the van is 58-year-old factory worker Wayne Birkett.
Leeds United fan Wayne was on his way to work when he was struck by a stolen van moments after getting off a bus.
His workmates said the dad, nicknamed ‘Mush’, got off the bus early so he could walk to work at a factory near Nottingham station.
One posted on Twitter: “C’mon ‘Mush’, keep fighting. Your workmates have your back! #NottinghamTogether.”
In another tweet he added: “Was on the same bus as workmate. He gets off one stop earlier for a walk to work. Just horrendous!”
Wayne, who works for lightning protection company ABB Furse, lives in Nottingham but is originally from Newark-on-Trent, Notts.
A colleague told the Mirror: “All we’ve heard is that Mush was critical.
"We’re all praying for him.”
Flowers on the steps of Nottingham Council House (PA)The workmate jokingly added: “Wayne needs to get well and back to work as I’m having to do all his work too.”
Wayne’s brother Shaun told the Mirror: “There’s not much to say. We’re just waiting for Wayne to open his eyes.”
Calocane was tasered and arrested on suspicion of murder at 5.30am on Tuesday when the van was stopped in Hyson Green.
Detectives are continuing to work with counter-terrorism officers and keeping an “open mind” on the motives behind the attacks.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman paid her respects to the three victims outside Nottingham’s Council House yesterday (Thurs).
Calocane was tasered and arrested on suspicion of murder at 5.30am on Tuesday when the van was stopped in Hyson Green.
Detectives are continuing to work with counter-terrorism officers and keeping an “open mind” on the motives behind the attacks.