Nottingham assault sufferer Grace O’Malley-Kumar posthumously awarded bravery medal | EUROtoday

Teenager Grace O’Malley-Kumar will probably be posthumously awarded the George Medal for her “incredible bravery” after she tried to avoid wasting her good friend Barnaby Webber in the course of the Nottingham assaults.

The 19-year-old medical scholar was strolling dwelling with Mr Webber, additionally 19, when each have been attacked by Valdo Calocane in Nottingham metropolis centre in June 2023.

After Calocane stabbed Mr Webber, Ms O’Malley-Kumar rushed to his assist, pushing the assailant away earlier than he turned on her in what prosecutors described as an “uncompromisingly brutal” assault.

open picture in gallery

The George Medal, established in 1940, is awarded for “conspicuous gallantry not in the presence of the enemy”. Ms O’Malley-Kumar is considered one of 20 folks honoured within the newest Gallantry Awards record. Her quotation learn: “Grace’s exceptional courage in the face of extreme danger serve as an outstanding example of personal bravery.”

The medal will probably be offered to Grace’s household.

She has been really helpful for the honour by the King, in recognition of her actions in the course of the assault that claimed her life. It follows a marketing campaign for Grace to be awarded the much more prestigious George Cross, the very best gallantry award given for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not within the presence of an enemy – a drive which was backed final yr by then-prime minister Rishi Sunak.

Calocane, a paranoid schizophrenic, went on to stab faculty caretaker Ian Coates, 65, to demise shortly after. He was later sentenced to an indefinite hospital order after pleading responsible to manslaughter by diminished duty.

open picture in gallery

A household good friend instructed The Sun: “Grace was an athlete. She could have easily run away but her instinct was to stand by her friend and she paid the ultimate price for her courage.”

The good friend added that the household are “incredibly grateful” for the popularity of this award for his or her “extraordinary, brave and beautiful daughter Grace”.

“The family are so proud of Grace because this act shows exactly the person they knew her to be – someone who never abandoned a friend,” they mentioned.

During Calocane’s sentencing at Nottingham Crown Court, Ms O’Malley-Kumar’s father, Dr Sanjoy Kumar, instructed him: “She heroically and valiantly fought you. Like a hero, she put herself in harm’s way.”

Other recipients of the George Medal embody Richard O’Brien, who was awarded the King’s Gallantry Medal for intervening in an armed assault in Barnet in 2021, and Alicia Richards and Molly Bulmer, who acquired the King’s Commendation for Bravery for confronting an armed attacker at a college in Sheffield in May final yr.

Sir Keir Starmer mentioned: “This is what true courage looks like. In moments of unimaginable danger, these extraordinary people acted with selflessness and bravery that speaks to the very best of who we are as a nation.

“I want to pay tribute to all of the recipients, including Grace O’Malley-Kumar who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect her friend. Her legacy will live on as a powerful example of heroism.”