22 May 2008 Exeter bombing
Encyclopedia
The Exeter bombing was a failed attack which happened on 22 May 2008, at the Giraffe cafe and restaurant in Princesshay
, Exeter
, United Kingdom
. Nicky Reilly, 22, a Muslim
convert from Plymouth
, pleaded guilty to launching a failed suicide attack on 15 October. The bomber was the only person injured.
After the restaurant was evacuated, police evacuated and cordoned off the immediate area in fear of another device. This cordon was originally confined to the Princesshay
area, but was later extended to cover the whole of the city centre, from the bottom of High Street to Sidwell Street. Another device was found in the vicinity of the cafe, but was disabled by a bomb disposal team.
had to re-route their buses causing traffic delays. The city's bus station was also evacuated. Many hours after the attack, resulted in the evening of 22 May when the cordon, which had stretched to include Exeter bus station, being reduced and many roads surrounding the shopping centre re-opened.
On the Friday, all shops - except the restaurant involved, were re-opened as usual. The incident is estimated to have cost the local economy approximately £2.5 million.
's Counter Terrorism branch SO15, was brought in to help the Devon and Cornwall Police constabulary with their investigations. Soon after the arrest police began searching at the Muslim Community Centre in St Jude's, Plymouth
.
Since the explosion in Exeter
a total of four arrests have been made in connection with the incident. Under the Terrorism Act 2006
a person arrested under terrorism can be detained in Police custody for 28 days without being charged.
On 3 June, he was charged with three offences, one under the Terrorism Act 2006
and a further two under the Explosive Substances Act 1883
. He appeared before magistrates in a secure court in Westminster, London on 4 June, and was remanded in custody.
city centre in which armed police arrested another person. A second individual was detained and is helping police with their enquiries, but is no longer in police custody At 17:30 on 28 May a fourth man was detained for questioning.
Princesshay
Princesshay is a shopping mall in the city of Exeter, Devon, England. It was built in the early 1950s to replace buildings that had been destroyed in the World War II Baedeker Blitz...
, Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Nicky Reilly, 22, a Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
convert from Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
, pleaded guilty to launching a failed suicide attack on 15 October. The bomber was the only person injured.
Attack
The attack took place at 12:50 while the bomber was in a locked cubicle of the restaurant toilets. Witnesses in and around the restaurant report hearing a loud bang. Most dismissed it, thinking the sound had come from a nearby building site. Another witness reported that it "sounded more like gunshots than a bomb, like a lightbulb exploding". Police were immediately called to the scene and the restaurant was evacuated.Evacuation
Princesshay
Princesshay is a shopping mall in the city of Exeter, Devon, England. It was built in the early 1950s to replace buildings that had been destroyed in the World War II Baedeker Blitz...
area, but was later extended to cover the whole of the city centre, from the bottom of High Street to Sidwell Street. Another device was found in the vicinity of the cafe, but was disabled by a bomb disposal team.
Thursday 22 May 2008
- 10.20am Nicky Reilly boards a double-decker Stagecoach bus number X38 in Bretonside bus station in Plymouth bound for Paris Street, Exeter.
- 12:05pm Reilly arrives in Exeter.
- 12.50pm Police and ambulance services receive calls from members of the public reporting that a man has been injured in an explosion at the Giraffe cafe and restaurant in Princesshay.
- 1pm A 100 m cordon is established and police begin to evacuate the area.
- 1.40pm Police confirm it is believed an explosion has occurred.
- 2pm The injured man is taken to the Royal Devon and Exeter HospitalRoyal Devon and Exeter HospitalThe Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital , is a medium-sized teaching hospital situated in Exeter, England. The hospital is part of the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust which also runs Heavitree Hospital, Honeylands Children’s Centre , the Exeter Mobility...
.
- 2.20pm Bomb disposal officers arrive at the scene with sniffer dogs.
- 3pm The city centre, including Princesshay, the High Street, Paris Street and part of Sidwell Street, is cordoned off and evacuated by police.
- 3.25pm Police confirm that a man is in custody following the explosion.
- 4.15pm Bomb disposal experts prepare to enter the Giraffe restaurant. Police reveal they have been called to three other reports of suspicious devices in the city centre — at PrimarkPrimarkPrimark is a clothing retailer, operating over 223 stores in Ireland , the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Belgium...
, McDonald's and on a bicycle — but all have been found to be false alarms.
- 5.15pm Forensic officers begin to examine the Giraffe restaurant after bomb disposal experts declare the scene safe.
- 6.50pm Police reveal two devices have been found, one of which exploded and another that was made safe.
- 7pm A phased lifting of the cordons begins and workers are allowed to return to shops and offices within the exclusion zone to collect their belongings, six hours after they were evacuated. Motorists are also able to retrieve their cars from the car parks in Princesshay and Southernhay.
Friday 23 May
- 12:00pm Police and business leaders hold a press conference regarding the previous days events.
- 12:47 The police reveal CCTV images of Reilly and appeal for witnesses on the X38 bus from Plymouth Bretonside to Paris Street bus station, Exeter.
- ~1:00pm A bomb disposal team arrive at Reilly's home in Plymouth as police investigate his flat.
- ~14:00 Part of Plymouth is sealed off after a suspect package is found. It is later found not to be a threat.
- ~15:00 Armed police target two men who are drinking at the Bagatelle cafe in Plymouth city centre. One is arrested and the other is said to be helping police.
Saturday 24 May
- ~11:00 Businesses in both cities reveal that custom is back to normal.
Monday 26 May
- ~14:00 - Nicky Reilly is discharged from hospital and into police custody.
Wednesday 15 October
Reilly pled guilty to launching a failed suicide bid at the Giraffe restaurant in Exeter. Information released after his guilty plea reveals Reilly was obsessed with martyrdom and wanted to cause as much death and injury as possible.Friday 30 January 2009
- Reilly is sentenced to life imprisonmentLife imprisonmentLife imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
with a minimum term of at least 18 years.
Aftermath
The large cordon set up around the bomb site caused considerable disruption. Not only were shops along the High Street shut, but the city's main bus operator Stagecoach DevonStagecoach Devon
Stagecoach Devon Ltd, part of the Stagecoach Group, is a bus operator serving the East Devon, Exeter and Torbay, and more recently Tiverton and Barnstaple, areas of South West England. It was formed in 1995 with the purchase of Devon General and Bayline. Its headquarters is in Exeter...
had to re-route their buses causing traffic delays. The city's bus station was also evacuated. Many hours after the attack, resulted in the evening of 22 May when the cordon, which had stretched to include Exeter bus station, being reduced and many roads surrounding the shopping centre re-opened.
On the Friday, all shops - except the restaurant involved, were re-opened as usual. The incident is estimated to have cost the local economy approximately £2.5 million.
Investigations
A team of about twenty specialists (including forensic officers, intelligence experts and detectives) from Scotland YardScotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
's Counter Terrorism branch SO15, was brought in to help the Devon and Cornwall Police constabulary with their investigations. Soon after the arrest police began searching at the Muslim Community Centre in St Jude's, Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
.
Arrests
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
a total of four arrests have been made in connection with the incident. Under the Terrorism Act 2006
Terrorism Act 2006
The Terrorism Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that received Royal Assent on 30 March 2006, after being introduced on 12 October 2005. The Act creates new offences related to terrorism, and amends existing ones. The Act was drafted in the aftermath of the 7 July 2005...
a person arrested under terrorism can be detained in Police custody for 28 days without being charged.
Mohamed Abdulaziz Rashid Saeed-Alim (Nicky Reilly)
Nicky Raymond Reilly (now known as Mohamed Abdulaziz Rashid Saeed-Alim), aged 22, was born in Plymouth, where he lived with his mother, Kim. He had previously been detained in a mental health hospital. Since his conversion to Islam and changing his name, he came under the influence of religious extremists, who reportedly radicalised him into detonating a bomb in Exeter.On 3 June, he was charged with three offences, one under the Terrorism Act 2006
Terrorism Act 2006
The Terrorism Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that received Royal Assent on 30 March 2006, after being introduced on 12 October 2005. The Act creates new offences related to terrorism, and amends existing ones. The Act was drafted in the aftermath of the 7 July 2005...
and a further two under the Explosive Substances Act 1883
Explosive Substances Act 1883
The Explosive Substances Act 1883 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It makes it illegal to use -- or conspire or intend to use -- any explosive substance to cause an explosion likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property, whether or not any explosion actually takes...
. He appeared before magistrates in a secure court in Westminster, London on 4 June, and was remanded in custody.
Other arrests
On Friday 23 May, there was an evacuation of PlymouthPlymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
city centre in which armed police arrested another person. A second individual was detained and is helping police with their enquiries, but is no longer in police custody At 17:30 on 28 May a fourth man was detained for questioning.