What William And Kate Had To Say About This Politician's Tragic Death

On October 15, Sir David Amess, a longtime British lawmaker and member of Parliament, was stabbed to death while hosting a constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea, England. Amess was attempting to engage in a dialogue of sorts with his constituents at Belfairs Methodist Church when he was reportedly suddenly stabbed multiple times by 25-year-old Ali Harbi Ali. According to BBC, Ali is currently being held under the United Kingdom's Terrorism Act, as early investigations by the police have led them to believe Ali might be linked to some form of Islamic extremism. Years ago, Ali was referred to the counter-terrorist program called Prevent, though his actions leading up to the attack weren't suspicious enough to warrant an investigation.

Amess' death was especially felt by other members of the British Parliament, since this is the second lethal attack against a member of Parliament in the past few years. Back in 2016, Labour Member of Parliament Jo Cox was shot and stabbed multiple times by far-right extremist Thomas Mair just before she was due to hold her own constituency surgery in the English village of Birstall, per The Guardian.

In the aftermath of Amess' death, many notable public figures in Great Britain came forward to pay their condolences to the man who had been active in British politics since 1983.

On October 15, Prince William and Kate Middleton shared a personal message on their joint Twitter account after learning about British Member of Parliament Sir David Amess' death. "We are shocked and saddened by the murder of Sir David Amess, who dedicated 40 years of his life to serving his community. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and colleagues," Prince William and Middleton wrote in the tweet. According to People, Amess was awarded a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II for his political and public service in Great Britain.

Current British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and former Prime Minister David Cameron also tweeted their reactions to the news of Amess' murder. Johnson expressed "shock" and "sadness," referring to Amess as "one of the kindest, nicest, most gentle people in politics." "This is the most devastating, horrific & tragic news," Cameron tweeted. "David Amess was a kind & thoroughly decent man – & he was the most committed MP you could ever hope to meet. Words cannot adequately express the horror of what has happened today. Right now, my heart goes out to David's family."

According to BBC, the authorities have until Friday, October 22 to thoroughly question Amess' suspected killer, Ali Harbi Ali.