UPDATE - Police Declare Stabbing Attack in UK's Reading Terrorist Incident

LONDON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st June, 2020) The stabbing attack in the UK city of Reading allegedly perpetrated by a 25-year-old man of Libyan origin has been declared a terrorist incident, Thames Valley Police said on Sunday.

The attack took place on Saturday and left three people killed and a further three wounded. Law enforcement officials stated that alleged perpetrator had been arrested and charged with murder. Initially, Detective Chief Superintendent Ian Hunter said in a statement that police did not believe that the incident was terrorism-related.

"@TerrorismPolice can now confirm that the stabbing incident that happened in Reading last night has now been declared a terrorist incident.

We continue to work together with Counter Terrorism Policing SE," the police wrote on Twitter.

Thames Valley Police said on Saturday that the attack was not linked to a Black Lives Matter protest that was held in the area earlier that day.

Tania Bassett, a spokeswoman for the National Association of Probation Officers, said later in the day that the suspect was a refugee from Libya with a criminal record for crimes not related to terrorism. Khairi Saadallah had serious mental disabilities, according to Bassett.

The investigation is ongoing. Police have interviewed more than 40 witnesses and raided the suspect's premises.�