Killer carried names of flatmates during attacks

A public inquiry has heard Valdo Calocane had the names of students he had shared a flat with in his weapon-filled rucksack carried on the night of the Nottingham attacks.

Calocane killed school caretaker Ian Coates, and students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar on 13 June 2023.

The inquiry had earlier heard Calocane had previously assaulted one flatmate and intimidated others, leading to them having to be rehoused by the University of Nottingham.

Counsel to the inquiry, Rachel Langdale KC, highlighted the list of names as she questioned how seriously the University of Nottingham treated the risk he posed - but pro-vice chancellor Prof Katherine Linehan said staff were guided by police.

The inquiry, led by retired senior judge Deborah Taylor KC, is examining the events that led up to the attacks.

More than 100 witnesses are giving evidence over the course of nine weeks. They include police officers and mental health workers who Calocane was known to.

Calocane was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in July 2020 and was sectioned under the Mental Health Act multiple times.

During his time as a student at the university, Calocane carried out a number of assaults, including in January 2022 when he put a flatmate, known as Christopher, into a headlock in a row over the cleanliness of the shared bathroom.

The inquiry heard police were called but Calocane was not arrested or charged.

After informing the University of Nottingham about the incident, both Christopher and the other flatmates were assisted in leaving the accommodation - "creeping out" as Calocane slept.

On Monday, Langdale revealed more details of his behaviour while questioning Linehan.

"The support about moving them on to other accommodation was only short-term support," she said.

"The medium and long-term support required being kept safe from him, wasn't it?

"He had assaulted one of them, held them in a necklock, been bullying, targeted two flatmates, who were not permitted to leave the flat, while another one was.

"So to keep them safe from him wasn't a short-term fix was it?

"We know he went back to those premises in April. You may or may not know in the rucksack where weapons were found on the night of the fatal attacks, he had a piece of paper with their names on in the bag.

"The assessment of what risk he posed to them and other students at the time was not really considered was it?"

Linehan said: "I think it was considered. We were always considering both aspects to it.

"I think the key bit was that the police had attended the event.

"We knew about the incident, we knew about that and we had sought advice and guidance from the police about what their assessment was and they had reported it was very, very low level."

The hearing also heard evidence from PC Simon Zacharia, who was one of two officers sent to the flat following the headlock confrontation on 15 January 2022.

He denied claims made by the student that he had been dismissive about the assault complaint.

"That's absolutely not true," he said. "When I go for a job I give it 100%.

"They have called us for a reason. I would never be dismissive or dismiss anyone. Crime is crime.

"Whether he was injured or not, if he had been willing to make a statement I would have investigated it to the fullest."

He added: "[Calocane] was calm, he was compliant, and I've got Christopher who is not wanting to make a complaint and not engaging very well, so we felt that things had calmed down and it wasn't necessary or proportionate to be arresting him at that time."

The inquiry continues.

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