Expand / Collapse search
Watch TV
Menu

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2023 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.

World
Published

UK military says London attack victim was a popular soldier and drummer

Associated Press
  • e38e7da0-Britain Attack
    Image 1 of 2

    In this undated image released Thursday May 23, 2013, by the British Ministry of Defence, showing Lee Rigby known as ‘Riggers’ to his friends, who is identified by the MOD as the serving member of the armed forces who was attacked and killed by two men in the Woolwich area of London on Wednesday. The Ministry web site included the statement "It is with great sadness that the Ministry of Defence must announce that the soldier killed in yesterday's incident in Woolwich, South East London, is believed to be Drummer Lee Rigby of 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers." (AP Photo / MOD) (The Associated Press)

  • fe4d22f9-Britain Attack
    Image 2 of 2

    In this undated image released Thursday May 23, 2013, by the British Ministry of Defence, showing Lee Rigby known as ‘Riggers’ to his friends, who is identified by the MOD as the serving member of the armed forces who was attacked and killed by two men in the Woolwich area of London on Wednesday. The Ministry web site included the statement "It is with great sadness that the Ministry of Defence must announce that the soldier killed in yesterday's incident in Woolwich, South East London, is believed to be Drummer Lee Rigby of 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers." (AP Photo / MOD) (The Associated Press)

LONDON – Britain's military says the soldier brutally murdered in a suspected terrorist attack was a popular drummer and machine gunner, a father, and a passionate fan of Manchester United.

The Ministry of Defense identified him Thursday as 25-year-old Lee Rigby, of 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

It says he joined the army in 2006, and was posted in Cyprus, Afghanistan and Germany before becoming a recruiter, assisting with duties in the Tower of London.

Capt. Alan Williamson, the adjutant of the 2nd Fusiliers, calls Rigby "a cheeky and humorous man, always there with a joke to brighten the mood."

He says the loss of Rigby "will be felt across the battalion, but this is nothing compared to how his family must be feeling." Rigby had a 2-year-old son, Jack.