Police charge suspect with 3 counts of murder in rampage that rocked English city of Nottingham

LONDON — Police have charged a 31-year-old man with three counts of murder in the knife and van attack that killed two student athletes and a school caretaker earlier this week in the English city of Nottingham.

The suspect, Valdo Calocane, is also accused of three counts of attempted murder after he allegedly drove a stolen van at pedestrians during the rampage that began before dawn on Tuesday.

Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar, both 19 and students at Nottingham University, were stabbed to death on a street near their homes. Ian Coates, 65, was killed more than a mile (1.6 kilometers) away as he headed to work at a local school.

Following the stabbings, the attacker allegedly stole Coates' van and ran down a group of pedestrians, injuring three people, one critically. The attacks unfolded across a large swath of Nottingham, a university city of about 350,000 some 110 miles (175 kilometers) north of London.

“These charges are a significant development and arise as a result of our thorough investigation into these horrific incidents that occurred in our city,'' Chief Constable Kate Meynell, of Nottinghamshire Police, said.

Calocane, who has no permanent address, is due to appear at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on Saturday, police said.

O'Malley-Kumar was in the first year of a medical degree, and Webber was studying history.

A graduation ball scheduled for Tuesday evening was canceled, with many students gathering instead to light candles for the victims at St. Peter’s Church. Thousands attended a vigil at the university on Wednesday, lining up under an incongruously bright summer sun to leave flowers around a large rectangular fountain. Many wept.