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Woman arrested in south Wales after stabbings Woman arrested in south Wales after stabbings
(about 1 hour later)
South Wales police say officers are investigating a ‘serious incident’ in PontypriddSouth Wales police say officers are investigating a ‘serious incident’ in Pontypridd
Police have arrested a woman in a south Wales village amid reports of a series of stabbings. One person is believed to have died and several others have been injured in a stabbing at a village supermarket in south Wales.
South Wales police said detectives were investigating in Pen Y Graig, near Pontypridd, following reports of a “serious incident”. They asked shopkeepers to close their stores and told people to avoid the area. South Wales police said one woman had been arrested after a “serious incident at the location” and advised the public to avoid the area.
The force tweeted: Witnesses described seeing people running from the Co-op store in Pen Y Graig, Rhondda Valley, on Tuesday afternoon.
The incident took place at around 1.30pm, both inside and outside the Co-op supermarket. Four people were taken to hospital. The Welsh ambulance services said four people had been taken to hospitals in Cardiff and Newport following the incident near Pontypridd.
Local people claimed that two people had been injured very seriously and two others were also hurt. Ravi Raj, the manager at the Pen Y Graig post office, said he had seen people running from the Co-op, some bleeding, and he believed that there had been a death.
It is understood the incident took place close to a queue of people who were following physical distancing rules as they waited outside a shop. “There was a woman attacking people with a knife,” he said. “I saw one of the men bleeding from his neck and one of the women from the side of the neck.”
Ravi Raj, 35, manager at the Pen Y Graig post office, said he had seen people running from the Co-op, some bleeding. He added: “I walked down the road when the people were running out so I just wanted to see what had happened. I couldn’t go inside because it was already blocked. I heard there was a lot of blood inside the Co-op.”
“There was a woman attacking four different people with a knife,” he said. “I saw one of the men bleeding from his neck and one of the women from the side of the neck.” It is believed that people were stabbed inside and outside the Co-op on the village’s main shopping street.
One nearby shopkeeper said: “I saw a man with blood dripping down the back of his head and a woman with a cut on her neck. Everyone is feeling very uptight.” The Rhondda MP, Chris Bryant, said it had been a horrific incident and added: “It may be we need to think quite long and hard about the support we give to people during this period when they are cooped up at home.”
Another said: “The police came round afterwards and told us we had to close and go home. It’s so scary.” The force said: “One woman has been arrested and is in police custody. The public are asked to avoid the area until further notice.”
The street is lined with terrace houses and shops, most of which are shuttered because of the lockdown. Some businesses including a fish and chip shop and a few stores were open operating under lockdown conditions. Another witness said: “I just saw a hat and cans on the floor outside the Co-op as I was pulling up and thought ‘That’s strange’, then paramedics arrived.
A Welsh Ambulance Service spokesperson said that after they were called at about 1.50pm: “We sent one rapid response vehicle, three emergency ambulances, two advanced paramedic practitioners and our hazardous area response team, who were supported by an air ambulance. “My husband went to go into the Co-op but got stopped by people who told him that there was a woman inside with a knife who was stabbing people.
“Four people were taken by road to Cardiff’s University Hospital of Wales and the Royal Glamorgan Hospital.” “I stayed in the Jeep and more police and paramedics arrived and they went to a man who was in the van parked in front of my Jeep.
“This man had been stabbed repeatedly, they took him out of the van and placed him into the ambulance.”
A takeaway owner said a woman came into his shop bleeding following the incident, though he had not been present at the time. “She told my nephew, ‘Put the shutters down, put the shutters down’ – she was bleeding and he called the police and ambulance.”
The street is lined with terrace houses and shops, most of which are shuttered because of the lockdown. Some businesses were open operating under lockdown conditions.
A Welsh ambulance service spokesperson said it was called at about 1.50pm: “We sent one rapid response vehicle, three emergency ambulances, two advanced paramedic practitioners and our hazardous area response team, who were supported by an air ambulance.
“Four people were taken by road to Cardiff’s University hospital of Wales and the Royal Glamorgan hospital.”
Leanne Wood, the Welsh assembly member for Rhondda where the village is located, described what happened as a “serious violent incident in our local Co-op”.Leanne Wood, the Welsh assembly member for Rhondda where the village is located, described what happened as a “serious violent incident in our local Co-op”.
She said: “This is the shop that is my local grocery shop. I know the staff there, I know most of the regular shoppers there, and it is a high street that is different to no other in Wales. My sympathies go to all those affected, their families and the shop staff who must have been traumatised to witness such horror.”She said: “This is the shop that is my local grocery shop. I know the staff there, I know most of the regular shoppers there, and it is a high street that is different to no other in Wales. My sympathies go to all those affected, their families and the shop staff who must have been traumatised to witness such horror.”
The Rhondda MP Chris Bryant tweeted:
Alex Davies-Jones, MP for the neighbouring seat of Pontypridd, said she was “really concerned” by the news, adding: “Thank you to all our emergency services for responding so quickly. Thoughts are with all those involved.”
The bus company, Stagecoach, stopped its service in Pen Y Graig for the day.