Leicester Gripped by Fear as Police Silence Fuels False Rumours of Multiple Stabbings
For nearly a full day this week, Leicester was consumed by fear and confusion as thousands of residents believed a knife-wielding attacker had launched a violent rampage across the city, potentially claiming multiple lives. What began as an isolated fatal incident on Tuesday evening rapidly transformed in the public consciousness into a far larger and deadlier series of attacks, drawing unsettling comparisons to the Nottingham stabbings of 2023.
The Initial Incident and Official Silence
The first official indication of trouble emerged around 5:30pm on Tuesday when Leicestershire Constabulary announced a road closure outside the De Montfort University campus, citing only a "serious incident" without providing further details. This was followed by a tweet from Liz Kendall, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology and MP for Leicester West, who stated she was aware of the campus incident and that her thoughts were "with those affected," again offering no specifics about the nature or scale of the event.
Photographs soon circulated showing dark, drizzly Leicester streets filled with police vehicles and flashing blue lights, while social media platforms, particularly X, became flooded with posts about the unfolding situation. Rumours began to swirl about multiple police cordons and crime scenes, with stories emerging of several stabbings. Recurring posts claimed at least three people had been attacked, often attributing these claims to unnamed local sources.
The Human Cost and Parental Panic
Worried parents with children studying at De Montfort University, unable to reach their loved ones, began frantically calling the institution for news. The anxiety spread city-wide, creating what one observer described as "a city-wide panic." The truth, however, was not definitively confirmed until 11:30am the following day—some 18 hours after the initial incident—and proved dramatically different from the widespread speculation.
This was not an attack resembling the notorious Nottingham rampage perpetrated by Valdo Calocane in June 2023, which claimed the lives of University of Nottingham students Barnaby Webber and Grace O'Malley-Kumar, along with 65-year-old school caretaker Ian Coates. While no less tragic for those involved, the Leicester incident was not the large-scale violent event many had feared.
The Reality: A Single Fatal Attack
Instead, there was a single victim: 20-year-old Khaleed Oladipo, a second-year cybersecurity student at De Montfort University. He had been making his way home to watch his beloved Arsenal team take on Chelsea in the Carabao Cup semi-final—a match Arsenal would win but which Khaleed would never see.
As he approached the university's Innovation Centre and student bar The Bowling Green, he became embroiled in an argument with another man in the street. The dispute turned violent, and just after 5pm, Mr Oladipo—a talented footballer from South London—collapsed to the ground after being stabbed in the chest.
A crowd gathered around him, with some attempting CPR while others dialled 999 and removed their coats to keep him warm. Campus security arrived with a defibrillator just before the first ambulance. Mr Oladipo was rushed to the Leicester Royal Infirmary, less than half a mile away, but died shortly afterwards. An 18-year-old man was later arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in custody.
How Misinformation Took Hold
The substantial police and medical response to the violent attack appears to have misled some nearby residents into believing there were multiple crime scenes. The extensive cordoned-off area—encompassing usually busy streets including Oxford Street, Infirmary Road, Infirmary Square, Carlton Street, York Road, Lower Brown Street, the Gateway, and Gosling Street—further suggested to some that this was a much larger incident than a single isolated attack.
With these visual cues and a complete absence of official police clarification, the information vacuum was filled with wild rumours of a triple stabbing at various locations across the city. On X, one user wrote: "3 stabbed outside the job I'm on in Leicester 1 dead over road rage." Another added: "Ive spoke (sic) to eyewitnesses in Leicester multiple stabbing and at least 1 dead."
Political and Public Backlash
By 10am the next day, Liz Kendall was still attempting to manage the situation, posting on Facebook: "I am aware that a serious incident took place on De Montfort University Campus yesterday evening, and that a police cordon remains in place this morning. There are no further details currently and I would urge everyone to refrain from speculating whilst investigations continue."
However, her constituents had already been speculating wildly for hours. Once it finally became clear there were no other stabbings, immediate backlash erupted against the police for failing to clarify the situation earlier. Leicestershire Police defended the prolonged information blackout as necessary for their "victim-first approach," allowing officers time to trace the victim's family and inform them of the tragic events.
X users criticised the police sharply, with one writing: "People wouldn't need to speculate if you actually released information, would they? The fact you're not means that there is simply one conclusion we can all leap to..." Another commented: "Not telling us what happened is unhelpful, have you learned nothing? Knowing you lot it will turn out to be more than 3 people stabbed so technically you can call this post wrong."
Local Leaders Express Concern
Local councillor Phil King described the delay in police communication as "terribly unhelpful" and said it had led to "idle speculation." The Conservative councillor for the Harborough district has written to the city's police and crime commissioner Rupert Matthews demanding an explanation.
Mr King told the Daily Mail: "Obviously this is a very tragic situation, my thoughts are with family and friends and this will be deeply concerning to all residents. But why did this take Leicestershire Police approximately 18 hours to release any public information?" He added: "I have local residents who work there, students who study and there is a hospital next door. Obviously they have to do their job and I understand all that and it is an awful tragedy. But information is needed to stop idle speculation and all that which is terribly unhelpful and makes people wonder what is going on."
Shockat Adam, the independent MP for Leicester South, which includes the DMU campus, said he too had spoken to Leicestershire Police "about its communications around this incident" and noted: "When you have a vacuum it gets filled by rumours - I'm certain there will be learnings from the police on this." Speaking to the BBC, Mr Adam added: "My social media was on fire and it always is on fire when there's an incident of this nature, because people like to speculate, people like to cause so much friction and trouble and politicise these incidents that it becomes a real issue. But a further layer and element of this was that there are parents who possibly couldn't get in touch with their children, only hearing that there has been somebody that's been killed and that caused a lot of stress."
Community Reaction and Police Response
As the truth emerged, local residents expressed frustration about the communication delay. Stuart Bint, a retired author, questioned Ms Kendall online after she issued her initial message, asking: "This is truly an horrific incident. But what's to be gained by the complete secrecy from Leicestershire police? Fear and speculation are rife in the area. Can you not urge the Chief Constable to make a holding statement, to calm things down?"
A Leicestershire Police spokesman responded: "The force understands that this incident has caused significant concern to those living in the surrounding area and the wider community. Following the report being received, emergency services were deployed and a scene preservation was put in place to secure any evidence and allow the investigation to begin. Notification of the road closures were publicised on the force's social media channels. During this period, enquiries were also undertaken to locate the deceased's next of kin and allow time for specially-trained officers to notify them of what had happened. This is in line with the force's victim-first approach to such incidents. Information about the incident was publicised to the force's website and social media channels once all necessary processes had been undertaken."
A Family's Grief and University Mourning
On Thursday morning, Mr Oladipo's family faced the heartbreaking task of identifying him at Leicester Royal Infirmary's mortuary, just streets away from where floral tributes had been laid near the murder scene. Relatives later released a cherished family photograph and a statement thanking medics and members of the public who tried to save his life, while expressing shock at why anyone would want to harm him.
They said: "We cannot begin to put into words how sad we are to have lost Khaleed. He was an extremely loved son, brother, uncle, boyfriend and friend. Khaleed was a good boy who loved his family. He was in his second year at university, and we were so proud of him. One of his main passions was football and he had played since the age of four. He was an Arsenal supporter and we believe he was on his way home to watch the game later that night when he was stabbed and killed. We want to thank the members of the public who stopped to try and help Khaleed and the ambulance service and hospital staff who did all they could to try and save him. We are also really grateful to the police for their efforts in the investigation so far to ensure the person responsible is brought to justice. We are struggling to understand why anyone would do this. We know getting justice for Khaleed will not bring him back but we will make sure that he gets the justice he deserves."
De Montfort University vice-chancellor Katie Normington described the killing as a "tragedy... deeply felt across our campus." She said: "A family has lost a beloved member and all our hearts go out to them. This tragedy is deeply felt across our campus and the city. Khaleed was a member of our DMU community and we know this loss will be particularly difficult for those who knew him. We are directly supporting students who studied with Khaleed, as well as all our students and staff who feel this loss. As a university we create opportunities for people to achieve, and seeing that cut off so tragically is devastating for all of us."
The investigation into Mr Oladipo's death continues, with extensive enquiries being carried out by detectives from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit Major Crime Team. A post-mortem examination confirmed he died from a stab wound to the chest.
