A SAINSBURY'S security guard who saw the blood-soaked Reading 'terrorist' get tackled by police said he was the same man who attacked him a year ago.

Sydney McDonald, 65, says he was attacked with a broken wine bottle by the suspect last year when he stopped him from shoplifting from the store in the town centre.

Khairi Saadallah, 25, originally from Libya, is accused of randomly knifing strangers in a bloodbath at the town's Forbury Gardens shortly after 7pm on Saturday.

Mr McDonald said he saw the suspect get arrested as he came out of the shop after finishing work.

He said: "I had just finished work at about 7.10pm and as soon as I came out of the shop, there were about four police cars, they turned around in the middle of the road, they were driving pretty fast.

"There was a guy and I saw him pointing to a man and saying 'There he is, there he is'. If he hadn't, they would have missed him.

"He was running really fast, properly fast.

"They put the emergency brakes on, jumped out of the car and rugby-tackled him to the floor.

"He was on his stomach and the blood on his hands looked like he had put his hand in a big bucket of red paint.

"They put the handcuffs on, he wasn't putting up a fight or anything like that, they picked him up and put him in the van, he just sat there all quiet, he wasn't saying nothing."

Mr McDonald said he recognised the suspect as the same person who attacked him with a broken wine bottle and a belt when he stopped him from shoplifting.

He said: "I am sure he is the same bloke, he's grown a beard but he's the same height, same build, same age, same everything."

Describing the previous incident, Mr McDonald said: "When he attacked me outside the shop he broke a bottle and threatened to stab me and I defended myself.

"I put him to the floor, held him there … and he couldn't get away from me and I held him until the police came."

He added: "If I couldn't have defended myself he probably would have killed me. But I knew how to handle it.

"He pulled the bottle of alcohol out that he had nicked from Sainsbury's then he smashed the bottle and came at me. He punched me in my face and I hit him back, his nose was bleeding. I kept him down on the floor until the police came.

"I thought he had a knife because of the way he was behaving."

I am sure he is the same bloke, he's grown a beard but he's the same height, same build, same age, same everything.

In August, Mr McDonald took the witness stand against Saadallah at Reading Crown Courtwho was charged with with affray, assault by beating and two counts of having an offensive weapon, the Reading Chronicle reported.

Three people died following the attack and a further three were hospitalised with serious injuries, though two have since been discharged.

One of the victims has been named as James Furlong, head of history at the Holt Community School in Wokingham.

The suspect was detained and arrested at the scene, and Thames Valley Police have this morning said the incident is being investigated as an act of terror.

Police said this evening he has been re-arrested under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

Saadallah arrived in the UK in 2012 as a tourist before claiming asylum on the grounds that his life was being threatened by Islamists in Libya, the Mail reported.

He has at least one previous conviction for a "minor violent offence", Sky News reported, and he is thought to have spent at least 12 months in jail.

He was being supervised by the National Probation Service, the Guardian reported, and court reports suggest a number of additional convictions for a man of the same name, age, and address.

None of the suspect’s previous convictions are believed to be terror-related, but security sources have told the BBC he was known to MI5.

Police have confirmed they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the attack.

Detective Chief Superintendent Kath Barnes, Head of CTPSE, said: “The investigation continues to move at a fast pace.

“We know that the suspect entered into Forbury Gardens in the centre of Reading and attacked members of the public with a knife leaving three people dead and three people needing hospital treatment.

“Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the families who will be mourning loved ones after this horrific act, and to all those who have been affected by it. We continue to work with the coroner to formally identify those who have died and to inform and support their relatives."

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