The man suspected of killing three people in an early morning stabbing rampage in Nottingham tried to break into a homeless hostel between the attacks, it has revealed.
The 31-year-old was stopped by a resident of Seely Hirst House as he tried to climb up through an open ground floor window at around 5am.
The attempted break-in came less than an hour after Grace O’Malley-Kumar, a medical student, and Barnaby Webber, a history student, were attacked and killed in Nottingham city centre.
CCTV footage from the hostel’s security cameras appears to show the attacker knocking on one of the windows.
After being taken out of the building, the suspect reportedly flagged down school caretaker Ian Coates, who was driving to work, and stabbed him to death.
He was arrested shortly after after allegedly stealing Mr Coates’ van and using it to ram three pedestrians, one of whom remained in critical condition in hospital on Wednesday night.
Detectives were continuing to question the suspected murder suspect, but sources said he had so far refused to cooperate and remained silent throughout the interview.
Meanwhile, residents of the Ilkeston Road area of Nottingham, where the first killings took place, claimed to have seen the man wandering around the area in recent weeks.
A resident told the Telegraph the suspect, who is a West African migrant, lived in a shared house on the road but was evicted after the property was raided by police last year.
He said the man had recently returned to the area and would be hanging out on the street near his old address.
Nottinghamshire Police have issued a strong denial after allegations surfaced suggesting they received information about a man acting suspiciously in the area shortly before the tragedy.
Chief Constable Kate Meynell insisted that was not true and said her officers continued to keep an open mind as to the motive for the attacks.
She said: “There have been reports suggesting that the police are no longer working with the counter-terrorism police.
“That is not the case, and the Counter Terrorism Police continue to work alongside Nottinghamshire Police.”
She added: ‘There were also reports that further calls were made to Nottinghamshire Police about the suspect before he carried out the attacks in Ilkeston Road. This is not the case.”
Police were called to Ilkeston Road just after 4am to reports that two people had been stabbed in the street.
About an hour later, a resident of a ground floor bedroom at Seely Hirst House, a shelter providing support to vulnerable and homeless people, was disturbed by the noise of someone one at the window.
Trevor Proverb, 59, who was having trouble sleeping because of the heat, said: “There was a guy all in black looking out the window. I thought it was a burglar at first.
“But he actually jumped up on the ledge and opened the top window like he was going to try to get in.
“I got up from my chair and just hit him in the face with a right hook, which forced him off the ledge. He looked up and walked a bit but left.
“Security knocked on my door to check if I knew the man. I never seen him in my life. »
It is believed the suspect may have been living on the streets recently after being evicted from his rental home last year and may have attempted to seek shelter at the homeless centre.
A local delivery driver, who lives near an address on Ilkeston Road, raided by armed police on Tuesday, said he saw a man matching the suspect’s description in the area up to four times in the past month.
He said: “He didn’t look like he was working to be honest with you, he looked like a dosser. He still reeked of weed.
It is understood the man in police custody came to the UK as a teenager from West Africa and was legally in the country, having been granted settlement status.
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then get a year for just $9 with our exclusive US offer.