Families of students killed in Nottingham attacks unite in grief

The heartbroken families of the two students killed in the knife and van attack on Tuesday in the central English city of Nottingham have joined thousands of people for a moving vigil in their memories.
Relatives of medical student Grace O'Malley-Kumar and history student Barnaby Webber could be seen embracing as crowds joined them in their grief on the University of Nottingham's main campus on Wednesday.
Barnaby's father David told those gathered that "his heart will be with you guys forever" while Grace's father Sanjoy told the students to look after each other.
He said: "The love that we have out here, I just wish we had it everywhere."
Tributes to the 19-year-olds, both talented athletes, have poured in since they were stabbed to death as they walked home from a night out in Nottingham just after 4 am on Tuesday, as well as the third victim of the violence, primary school caretaker Ian Coates, who was also remembered at the event.
In a moving speech, student union community officer Daisy Forster told the families "we will always be here when you need us," saying that there are 38,000 students to support them.
Grant Walton, from the university chaplaincy, described the deaths as "one of those moments which we hoped we'd never encounter," while the university's vice-chancellor, Professor Shearer West, said the lives of the victims had been "curtailed" by a "seemingly random" act of violence.
The vigil followed a series of tributes paid to the three victims of Tuesday's attacks who were all fatally stabbed, while another three people were hurt, one critically, when they were run over by a van.
Coates' sons left tributes at the scene of his death on Wednesday, telling reporters he was "a die-hard Forest fan" and a keen fisherman who took young people from deprived backgrounds fishing to try to divert them from crime.
Lee Coates said the death of his father, who was four months from retirement, had "rocked everyone's world," adding: "If we had to think about it, he'd be lying in a bed with us holding his hand, him dying naturally in 20 to 30 years' time."
"Not dying on a street because some guy decided it's not his day today," Lee's brother James added.
He went on: "He was everyone's friend, always willing to help."
"Nobody deserves this but he definitely didn't. None of them did, it's a tragedy."
A 31-year-old man was tasered and arrested on suspicion of murder after the trio were stabbed to death.
The university's vice-chancellor Professor Shearer West said O'Malley-Kumar, 19, had been "thriving in her first year of study" - adding she had been "inspired to a career in medicine by work placements in a GP surgery and her volunteering for the nationwide vaccination programme during the Covid-19 pandemic."
Her family described her as a "truly wonderful and beautiful young lady."
In a statement, they said: "Grace was an adored daughter and sister; she was a truly wonderful and beautiful young lady."
West said Webber, also aged 19, had a "particular personal interest in geopolitics of both the USA and China" - and that his tutors recalled "his energy as a student and as fun, friendly and full of life" in his seminars.
Webber's family previously said "complete devastation is not enough to describe our pain," labelling his death as a "senseless murder."
After the pair were found unresponsive in Ilkeston Road, Coates was found fatally knifed in Magdala Road before the suspect is believed to have stolen his van and driven at pedestrians in Milton Street.
According to reports, the suspect was a west African migrant who had settled in the UK legally and was known to police.
It is understood the man has a mental health history.
Investigators are continuing to work with counter-terrorism police and maintain an open mind about the motive for the attack.