The two people stabbed to death near London Bridge last week have been identified, and their life stories are adding an unexpected wrinkle to the post-attack debate. Both were Cambridge graduates in their 20s who were attending a forum designed to rehabilitate prisoners. Their attacker was at the same forum—as a former prisoner who'd been released only last year on terrorism offenses. Coverage:
- Victims: Jack Merritt, 25, and Saskia Jones, 23, were killed. Merritt was coordinator of a program called Learning Together, an education initiative in which Cambridge grad students worked with prisoners, per the Washington Post. Jones was a volunteer. The group was celebrating its fifth anniversary in Fishmongers' Hall, near the bridge, when the attack began.
- Attacker: He has been identified as Usman Khan, 28, reports the BBC. He'd been released from prison last year after being convicted in 2012 of plotting a terrorist bombing in London, per the New York Times. Khan was attending the Learning Together program when he began his rampage with two knives and a fake suicide vest. Eventually, he'd be wrestled to the ground by bystanders on the bridge and fatally shot by police.