A public inquiry into the 2023 Nottingham attacks has concluded that the death of 19-year-old student Barnaby Webber may have been "potentially preventable," based on evidence presented during the final stages of the inquiry. Webber, along with Grace O'Malley-Kumar, also 19, and Ian Coates, a 65-year-old caretaker, were fatally stabbed by Valdo Calocane, a man diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, on 13 June 2023. Calocane was later sentenced to an indefinite hospital order after admitting to three counts of manslaughter and three counts of attempted murder on grounds of diminished responsibility.
The inquiry is examining the events leading up to the attacks, including evidence from local authorities, health professionals, police officers, and Calocane's family. During closing submissions, counsel for the inquiry, Rachel Langdale KC, stated that a panel of medical professionals assessed the emergency medical response and the "survivability" of the victims. She noted that more rapid administration of blood products could have increased Webber's chance of reaching the hospital and undergoing surgery. Webber had a "far less" than 50% chance of surviving his injuries, which was classified as "potentially preventable." However, Langdale added that O'Malley-Kumar and Coates's deaths were "not preventable."
The assessment acknowledged the efforts of emergency services, but emphasized that more rapid administration of blood to Webber would have needed to be combined with multiple other rapid and meticulous steps "in order for Barnaby to survive to intensive care."
The inquiry also addressed the emergence of further evidence after hearings had concluded in early June. Inquiry chair Deborah Taylor KC expressed disappointment, stating that further evidence "ought to have been identified by core participants and disclosed earlier." She called on them to provide all corrections and omissions by 31 December.
Such evidence included the police discovery of a holdall bag at Calocane's former address in Nottingham in the days after the attack. The bag contained notebooks that were not disclosed to the inquiry until June this year. The books contained notes from Calocane in which he described himself as God, claimed police had "mind-reading software," and stated he had the power to "resurrect people." Other documents created by Calocane were found in a bin at the property, containing bullet points about explosives, including TNT and nitrate fertiliser. These notes were not identified or taken into account by police, nor made available to the Crown Prosecution Service or to psychiatric experts.
The lawyer representing bereaved families, Tim Moloney KC, noted that one of the notes appeared to say "Manchester Arena." Calocane had also searched online for "large venues in Nottingham," Moloney said. He added that no one had asked Calocane why he was researching explosives and large venues, "because they couldn't," and that there was a failure to investigate Calocane's historical behavior and actions.
The inquiry was also not told of violent assaults committed by Calocane until after the hearings concluded in early June. One involved an assault on a colleague in a warehouse in 2021, and another in which he punched a colleague in Normanton in February 2023. Evidence presented earlier this year detailed how Calocane had committed a string of violent incidents in the years before the attacks, leading to him being sectioned four times in the space of two years. An arrest warrant was also out for Calocane at the time of the Nottingham attacks, after he failed to appear in court for the alleged assault of a police officer.
Closing submissions will conclude on Wednesday, and a report detailing the inquiry's findings will be published next year.
Public Inquiry Into Nottingham Attacks Explores Preventability and Omissions
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