Councillor David Stevens, the Mayor of Reading, said he was still shocked by the attack.

He said: "Why Reading? We don't know.

"Reading's not going to be immune from this sort of attack - we're not that different. We all do our best to prevent it but it can happen.

"You have people in our very pretty Forbury Gardens on a Saturday afternoon enjoying life and then their life is cut short with no explanation. And that's the shock of it all.

"First and foremost it’s a very peaceful town. We've known this and seen this for years.”

Ejaz Elahi, from Reading Pakistani Centre, attended the vigil held in the town centre.

He told the BBC: “We’re still in a state of shock. We can’t comprehend what has happened – but it has happened. This is the way we can pay some respect.

“We can never ever compensate for the loss of lives and the families of the people who were so mercilessly slain, we just came to pay respect. The communities have come together. From the people you can see today, they all came to pay respect for those who died.”

“I became very emotional. I was feeling very sorry for the families…there is no word to describe.”

More than 100 students gathered at the gates to hold a silence at the school where James Furlong taught.

A friend of two of the men who were killed in Saturday's attacks said their loss is a "tragedy to so many people".

Martin Cooper, who is the chief executive of the LGBT+ charity Reading Pride, said Joe Ritchie-Bennett and James Furlong were "great supporters" and members of the community.

Mr Cooper, who had known Mr Ritchie-Bennett for four years and Mr Furlong for at least two years, said: "It was always a pleasure drinking and socialising and just being in their company.

"They should be remembered as extremely friendly gentleman who were always fun, engaging and a pleasure to be around.

"They were their own little support network for anybody to offload their troubles and concerns and gave great advice.

"They will be sorely missed by myself personally and many in the community. Their loss is a tragedy to so many people."

Mr Cooper added: "It was a horrific attack, an absolute atrocity to take unsuspecting people like that - it's such a tragic loss of life.

"We need to ensure a thorough investigation is done to understand why and how this happened and to ensure it never happens to anyone else again."

Image source, Thames Valley Police

Tributes have been paid to two of the three people killed in a park on Saturday.

Reading's MPs, the town's mayor and other leaders have laid flowers at a vigil held for the victims of Saturday's attacks.

Matt Rodda, who represents Reading East, and Alok Sharma, Reading West's MP, laid flowers alongside the Bishop of Reading, the Rt Revd Olivia Graham, and Reading's Mayor, Councillor David Stevens.

Home Secretary Priti Patel responds to Saturday's stabbings, which left three people dead.

André Rhoden-Paul
BBC South

Members of Reading's Sikh community have laid flowers in the town centre in tribute to those killed on Saturday.

Manjit Singh, from Reading, said: "It was very shocking that it could happen in our hometown, which is a very peaceful town. You don't expect this thing around here but unfortunately it's happened.

"I think we could stick together as a communities to weed out all these elements of terrorism and stick together regardless of our background. We are all British here and live in a very tight-knit community."

Image source, PA Media

A two-minute silence has been held at the school where James Furlong taught.

Students laid flowers at The Holt School's gate in Wokingham after co-headteachers Anne Kennedy and Katie Pearce read out a statement.

"James was a very kind and gentle man. He had a real sense of duty and cared for each and every one of our students," Ms Kennedy said.

"He truly inspired everyone he taught through his passion for his subject and his dedication."

Ms Pearce said counsellors would be available for students, adding: "Words cannot describe our shock and sadness at this time.

"He was a cherished colleague and he will be very sadly missed."

Image source, Facebook

Joe Ritchie-Bennett, the second victim identified, was an American who had lived in the UK for 15 years.

He was named by his father on American TV earlier on Monday.

Robert Ritchie, told CBS the family was "heartbroken" and described his son as "brilliant and loving".

The Bishop of Reading said the attack had shocked the town – but that it was also being brought closer together in grief.

The Rt Revd Olivia Graham said: “After the shock comes the experience of loss and grief and bereavement and that will stay with us and grow over the coming days.

“When something like this happens it brings out the best in people. We’ve heard about huge courage and a huge outpouring of compassion. There’s a real outpouring of love across Reading. It’s wonderful to hear that.”

She told the BBC: “Terrorism impact different people in different ways. It changes our sense of safety and I think what happens is that the human spirit is indomitable and people will...find in themselves a sense of defiance which says this will not divide us – this will bring us closer together.”

Image source, AFP

Priti Patel, Home Secretary on a visit to the site of the terror attack this weekend in Reading said it was a "tragic event".

She said she will "make sure that we learn the lessons from what has happened over the weekend to prevent anything like this from happening again."

When challenged about whether the attacker should have been deported she said: "we have to look at all aspects of this individual's history, which dates back over several years" but stressed a the case was ongoing she could not give more details.

She said as lockdown restrictions are eased the public "should always be vigilant we should always remain alert".

Anthony Stansfeld, Police and Crime Commissioner for the Thames Valley, said officers' speed in arresting suspect Khairi Saadallah on Saturday showed a "very, very good reaction".

He told the BBC: "Police officers took their lives in their hands not knowing what the circumstances were at that very early stage and arrested the man almost straight away after he left the park.

“It’s a big test when you’re put in a lifesaving situation and you have something to do about it or look the other way. I would very much hope that police officers would never look away. It was a very fast reaction.”

Mr Stansfeld said it was "very unlikely in this particular case" that anyone else was involved - but added that "lessons need to be learned".

The Mayor of Reading Councillor David Stevens led a minute's silence at the local authority, external.

He said: "I ask you all to join me in a minute's silence in memory of the victims of Saturday's horrific attack here in Reading.

"We'd like to offer our heartfelt condolences to those affected.

"We, at Reading council, offer our continued support to our heroic emergency services at this time."

He was joined by the leader of the council Jason Brock and the authority's chief executive Peter Sloman.

Image source, Reading Borough Council

The town's sole professional football club, Reading FC, has posted this tribute on their social media accounts.

US ambassador to the UK Woody Johnson confirmed that an American citizen was killed and condemned the attack.

He said: "I offer my deepest condolences to the families of those killed. To our great sorrow, this includes an American citizen. Our thoughts are with all those affected."

It comes as the victim was identified by his father on American TV as Joe Ritchie-Bennett.

The second victim of the attack has been identified by his father.

Joe Ritchie-Bennett was named on US TV network CBS. It reported he was from Philadelphia but had lived in the UK for 15 years.

Robert Ritchie, told CBS the family was "heartbroken" and described his son as "brilliant and loving".

Reading East MP Matt Rodda said that the attack was “deeply shocking for our town and our community across Berkshire.”

He said: "It's going to be really difficult [to get back to normal] but I already have seen and have already been inspired by people pulling together.

“We have an incredibly strong and friendly local community in this town and the surrounding area and people will come together and people are coming together.”