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Two University Students Killed in Recent London Bridge Stabbing Rampage

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(Photo : Toby Melville via Reuters)

A recent graduate of the University of Cambridge has been named the second victim killed in the stabbing of the London Bridge that left three others wounded and shot dead by the police.

Saskia Jones, 23, was killed along with a fellow graduate of the University of Cambridge, Jack Merritt, 25, whose death had already been reported by his family following the attack on Friday, Metropolitan Police said in a news release on Sunday.

Her family described Saskia at the center of the lives of many people as a funny, kind, and positive influence. They said she had a wonderful sense of mischievous fun and was generous to the point that she always wanted to see the best in everybody.

Family members noted that she had a great passion for offering vital assistance to survivors of criminal injustice, bringing her to the point of qualifying for the training program of police graduates. The family said she wanted to specialize in helping victims.

On the other hand, Merritt's family said that their young man lived by his principles. They added that Jack believed in redeeming and rehabilitating, not vengeance, and he always took the underdog's side. They remembered that Merritt died doing what he did surround by the people who loved him.

The Learning Together program was both attended by Jones and Merritt. They went to an event designed to bring together graduate students and prisoners to study criminology to reduce the stigma and marginalization that many inmates have experienced.

The event was intended to celebrate the fifth year of the program but was disturbed by an unspeakable criminal act instead, according to the University Vice-Chancellor Stephen Toope who was interviewed by The Associated Press.

Three others were wounded in the attack, and they were not named by the family's request. One of the wounded was identified as a member of the college staff. Police said one of the three had already returned home while the other two still stayed in the hospital but are now in stable condition.

The attacker was identified as the convicted terrorist Usman Khan, 28, who secured an early release from prison. He attended the event in the morning and then returned in the afternoon session when he went berserk and run amok stabbing innocent guests.

Police shot him dead after people restrained him. One of them is a chef who fought Khan with an ornamental 5-foot narwhal tusk and another civilian brandished the attacker with a fire extinguisher.

Boris Johnson, British Prime Minister, argued that Khan's early release was a "mistake" following the attack. Johnson told the BBC on Sunday that the conditions of the license of 74 convicted terrorists released early from prison will be reviewed.

Vigils were held in Cambridge for the victims of the London Bridge attack. The victims were also commemorated in service in London City's Guildhall Yard.

Among those who attended the minute of silence and the vigil in London were Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn, and London Mayor Sadiq Khan. In an address, the mayor said that terrorism will never cow or intimate the city.

At the Guildhall Art Gallery, a book of condolences is currently open and the public may lay flowers outside the nearby Mansion House.

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