“Grace and her friend, they fell together.”
The fathers of Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber, two of the tragic Nottingham stabbing victims, spoke together at a deeply emotional vigil in their memory at the university they attended.
The friends were stabbed on their way home from a night out and died, along with another man, Ian Coates, that was stabbed in a separate incident on Magdala Road.
At the vigil at University of Nottingham, David Webber said, “I know Barnaby would be super touched by everyone that’s here… I’m lost for words. I’ve lost my baby boy. I can’t even comprehend how I am going to deal with it.”
Grace O’Malley-Webber, 19, was the daughter of doctors Sanjoy Kumar and Sinead O’Malley, a Dublin native now living in the UK. The words of Sanjoy were particularly touching, and poignant, and we felt they needed to be shared here. He said:
“Everyone here, I really want to thank you for your support. For taking the time to be here. All of you guys, everywhere that I see – this sea of people – it is such a lovely sign of this university and the bond you have.
“Grace was also like Barbaby, she loved coming up to Nottingham. In fact, we couldn’t get her down [home]! “I said to her last week ‘come down’ and she well, after she’s had a few more sessions. I used to call them her crisis meetings.
“The love that we have out here, I wish we had it everywhere. So, look after each other. That’s the big thing. Look after your friends and look after people around you. It’s so important. Grace and her friend, they fell together. You need to be friends with everyone, and love everyone, and I wish we had more of it.
“But, most of all, all of you guys and everyone that is here, that Grace may not have even touched, I really thank you for being here and taking the time. It means so much to Sinead, my wife, and me. Grace loved being here and she loved all of you, she really did, and you should all feel really blessed. Her stories and things that she said about you, you all touched her life and, hence, ours. You’ll never be forgotten, by us, certainly.
“We have children that were taken away prematurely from us. That should never happen to any parent. But all I can say to all of you guys is I thank you for all of the things you did for our daughter, and Barney. Look out for each other and look after each other. Thank you.”
'Look after each other,' says the father of killed student Grace O'Malley-Kumar.
The fathers of Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley Kumar – David Webber and Sanjoy Kumar – spoke to those attending the vigil.
Read more: https://t.co/HLb6m2YFCb pic.twitter.com/DRBnRSIeW4
— Sky News (@SkyNews) June 14, 2023
It has been reported that the father of Grace O’Malley-Kumar, Sanjoy Kumar, heroically saved three stabbing victims in London, years earlier.
An unspeakable tragedy but, one hopes, the powerful message sent by both men to those students and mourners, and the wider world, resonates.
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