Tunisia Beach Victims Remembered

Tunisia Beach Victims Remembered

Britain has paid a solemn tribute to those killed in the Tunisian beach massacre with a minute's silence.

It came as it emerged the youngest victim of the terror attack died after being shot in the head alongside his grandfather.

Joel Richards, 19, and his grandfather Patrick Evans, 78, both died from a "gunshot wound to the head" while his uncle Adrian Evans, 49, died from gunshot wounds to the neck and "trunk", an inquest at West London Coroner's Court heard.

Joel's brother Owen, 16, survived the attack. He and his mother Suzanne observed the minute's silence at the family's beloved football club Walsall, where they were joined by the squad, manager Dean Smith and hundreds of supporters.

Wearing the club's red shirt with his arm around his mother, Owen bowed his head as he observed for the sombre moment at the club's Banks's Stadium, where a carpet of flowers, Walsall flags and shirts have been left in tribute to the family.

Joel was a talented young referee, and a member of the Birmingham County Football Association referee's department blew a whistle to mark the start and end of the silence, before the club's chaplain Peter Hart said a short prayer.

Darren Cooper, leader of Sandwell Council, where Adrian Evans worked as a gas services manager, led crowds at the authority's offices in the minute of remembrance.

He described the terrorists as "barbarians" and added: "We are united, we stand shoulder to shoulder in the face of adversity, and we will never ever allow terrorists to divide us or our communities."

Elsewhere the Queen and the Prime Minister joined millions of Britons in the minute's silence observed at noon to remember those killed on the beach at Sousse.

Some 30 British people were among the 38 murdered in the massacre last Friday.

Wimbledon fell silent as spectators congregated on Murray Mound to bow their heads, before clapping once the minute was over.

Matches started at 12.15pm rather than the usual 11.30am to allow players, staff and fans to take part.

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh observed the silence as they visited the University of Strathclyde's Technology and Innovation Centre, while David Cameron marked the moment in his Oxfordshire constituency.

As pedestrians and tourists alike bowed their head in London's Parliament Square during the silence, flags above Whitehall fluttered at half mast, a poignant symbol mirrored at public buildings throughout the country.

Outside Buckingham Palace hundreds of people gathered along the gates and lined the pavements for the occasion, before a brass band marched out of the main gates.

While at the Essex County Ground in Chelmsford the touring Australia Ashes cricket team joined Essex players and officials to bow their heads during a break in play.

Tunisian prime minister Habib Essid joined the UK's ambassador to the country Hamish Cowell at a memorial event on the beach in Sousse.

Armed police patrolled the beach while dozens of tourists gathered around a sea of flowers at the scene of the attacks.

Elsewhere, Tamworth fell silent to remember Sue Davey, who was killed along with her partner Scott Chalkley.

Flags on Tamworth Castle and the town's Marmion House were flown at half mast, and a book of condolence was opened by the council for people to remember her.

Mosques across the UK also fell silent to mark the occasion as Muslims paid their own tributes during the holy month of Ramadan.

The Muslim Council of Britain has urged British Muslims to make their voices heard to pray for peace, and speak out against terrorism.

The British victims were among 38 holidaymakers killed by Seifeddine Rezgui when he opened fire in the resort of Sousse.

Three Irish nationals, two Germans, one Belgian, one Portuguese and one Russian were among the dead.

In Crawley, West Sussex, where victims retired printer John Stocker, 74, and his wife Janet, 63, had roots and where relatives still live, the silence was observed impeccably.

Mayor of Crawley Chris Cheshire said after the silence: "We wanted to find a way, not just marking the one minute's silence, but by somehow transmitting the fact that our love and care for them will somehow sustain them."

The bodies of 25 of the 30 British victims killed in the beach massacre have been returned to the UK, with the final five returning tomorrow, the Foreign Office said.

Those repatriated today are Christopher and Sharon Bell, Scott Chalkley, Sue Davey, Angela and Raymond Fisher, Eileen Swannack, and John Welch, the Foreign Office said.

The final two Britons to be identified have been confirmed as Mr and Mrs Fisher, from Leicester, believed to be aged 75 and 69.

It is believed Rezgui - who was shot dead by police - had accomplices who helped him to carry out the atrocity.

Tunisian government said seven men and one woman are in custody, suspected of having direct links to the massacre, and four others have been released.

According to Tunisian officials, the gunman trained at a Libyan jihadist camp at the same time as the two gunmen who attacked the Bardo museum in Tunis in March, killing 22 people.

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