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Woman who died in London Bridge attack identified as former Cambridge student Saskia Jones

Rosie Perper,Rosie Perper   

Woman who died in London Bridge attack identified as former Cambridge student Saskia Jones
Defense2 min read
saskia jones

London's Metropolitan Police on Sunday evening identified the second victim of the London Bridge terror attack as 23-year-old Saskia Jones of Warwickshire.

25-year-old Jack Merritt of Cambridgeshire was also killed in the attack, according to police.

Both Jones and Merritt were graduates of the University of Cambridge and were both involved in a program called Learning Together, an education-based prison rehabilitation project. Merritt was a coordinator of the prison program while Jones was a volunteer.

Police said the incident was the subject of an ongoing counter-terrorism investigation.

Jones' family said in a statement that the Cambridge graduate was a "funny, kind, positive influence at the center of many people's lives."

"Saskia had a great passion for providing invaluable support to victims of criminal injustice, which led her to the point of recently applying for the police graduate recruitment programme, wishing to specialise in victim support," they said.

Merritt's family referred to him as a "beautiful, talented boy" who "died doing what he loved, surrounded by people he loved and who loved him."

"Jack lived his principles; he believed in redemption and rehabilitation, not revenge, and he always took the side of the underdog," they said. "We know Jack would not want this terrible, isolated incident to be used as a pretext by the government for introducing even more draconian sentences on prisoners, or for detaining people in prison for longer than necessary."

Three others were injured in the attack, which took place on the London Bridge on Friday afternoon. Police responded to calls of a stabbing on the bridge at around 1:58 p.m. local time. The attacker, Usman Khan, was armed with a knife and a "hoax explosive device." He was tackled to the ground by members of the public before being shot dead by police.

Khan, 28, was known to police and spent time in prison on terror-related charges. He was released from prison in December 2018.

Police on Sunday said one of the victims injured in the attack was released from the hospital. Two others remain in stable condition.


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