Slain British Soldier’s Wife Thought He Was ‘Safe’ In UK
From the archive: published May 24, 2013, 13 years ago. Details may have changed since.
Slain British soldier Lee Rigby, who was brutally murdered in broad daylight in London, left behind a family who are completely distraught by this heinous act of seemingly politically-motivated act of violence. His wife said Friday that she thought he was safe in the UK after he returned from active duty in Afghanistan.
Rigby, 25, was affectionately nicknamed “Riggers” by friend and family. Several of his emotional relatives made an emotional appearance at a news conference on Friday, just after dramatic footage showed the moment police shot two men later arrested for the murder.
Rigby was killed Wednesday near an army barracks in Woolwich, South London.
His father, Ian, did most of the talking at the news conference, calling his son a “hero” who “didn’t deserve this.”
Rebecca, Rigby’s wife, was struggling to speak but said: “I just want to say that I love Lee. I always will and I’m proud to be his wife.”
“He was due to come up this weekend, so we could continue our future together as a family. He was a devoted father to our son Jack and we’ll both miss him terribly,” she added.
She said that she was mostly shocked that he was killed so openly in London.
“You don’t expect it to happen when he’s in the U.K. You think they’re safe,” she said. “You know it’s dangerous when they go somewhere like that [Afghanistan] … he’s walked up and down that road so many times before.”
New video shows Rigby’s attackers being shot by police. You can watch it here, but be warned: Some may find the clip disturbing.
Separate footage taken before the police arrived shows one of the attackers holding what appears to be a knife, with blood all over his hands. The attack appeared to be politically, even religiously, motivated judging by the suspect’s confession in the video of the attack’s aftermath.
“We swear by almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you,” said the man, in reference to the British fighting against Muslim insurgents abroad. “We must fight them as they fight us.”
According to British authorities, both suspects had previously been investigated for possible terror links.
Check out the slain British soldier’s family speaking at a press conference below:
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