Wales: girl, 16, dies in reported stabbing in village
A 16-year-old girl has died after emergency services were called to reports of a stabbing in a small Welsh village.
Two men have been arrested in connection with the tragedy in Ynyswen in Rhondda Cynon Taf and were themselves taken to hospital and receiving treatment for serious injuries.
South Wales police said on Friday night they are still trying to establish the cause of the girl’s death, which they described as “sudden and unexplained”.
They said they were not treating it as a terrorist attack and the three are believed to be known to each other. Detectives are not looking for anyone else in connection with this incident.
Officers’ attention was focused on an area around a Chinese takeaway, the Blue Sky, on Baglan Street. A family has been running the Blue Sky for about three years.
John Belgrove, a builder who lives on the street, said he was in his shed when his barking dogs alerted him to emergency services just after midday.
“I came out and I counted over the next half an hour about 31 different emergency vehicles,” he said. “I saw a lady, probably in her 20s, crying uncontrollably and she had blood on her front.
“There was one elderly man who was walking wounded with his head all bandaged up and they put him in the back of an ambulance.” He said another younger man was being treated by paramedics.
The Welsh first minister, Mark Drakeford, said he was deeply concerned. “I’m being kept informed of developments and my thoughts are with everyone in the community during this worrying time,” he said.
A police spokesperson said: “Emergency services were called to a premises in Baglan Street at approximately midday on Friday 5 March to reports of a stabbing.”
The force said a postmortem examination will take place to help establish how the girl died.
Her family is being supported by specially-trained liaison officers and efforts are continuing to contact other relatives.
Supt Rich Jones, from South Wales police, said: “This is clearly a very serious incident which has caused significant shock and concern for both the local and wider community.
“We have a dedicated team of detectives working hard to establish the exact circumstances that have led to the tragic death of this young girl.
“While the investigation is still in its early stages, we can confirm that those involved are understood to know to each other and we are currently not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.
“There will be significant police presence in Baglan Street over the weekend but we will reopen the road at the earliest opportunity. In the meantime, the support and understanding of the local community is very much appreciated.”
Kirby England, 29, who lives opposite, said a paramedic treated a person who had been sitting in a car parked outside the takeaway.
She said: “He laid her on the floor and was giving her CPR. I could see him doing the pumping actions on her chest. Other paramedics joined him while the police blocked off the road from both ends.”
Some residents said armed police had attended. The street was cordoned off and hoarding put up around the Chinese takeaway.
Chris Bryant, the Labour MP for Rhondda, tweeted his thoughts went out to all those affected.
A spokesperson for the Welsh ambulance service said it had sent one rapid response vehicle, three emergency ambulances, the hazardous area response team and the Wales air ambulance to the scene.
Leanne Wood, who represents the Rhondda in the Welsh parliament, said: “My thoughts go out to the people harmed in this incident, the local residents who may have witnessed it and the emergency services who responded to it.”
