Teenage girl arrested after a student and 2 teachers were stabbed at a school in Wales
Police at the scene at Amman Valley school after three people were injured, in Ammanford, Wales, Wednesday April 24, 2024. Welsh police say a suspect has been arrested after three people were injured in a “major incident” at a school in Wales. Dyfed-Powys Police said Wednesday that the victims were being treated for injuries at Amman Valley School in Ammanford, Carmarthenshire. Police did not disclose what happened, the nature of the injuries or why the alleged suspect was arrested. (Ben Birchall/PA via AP)
LONDON (AP) — A teenage girl was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder Wednesday after stabbing a student and two teachers at a secondary school in Wales, police said.
The three victims were expected to survive their wounds after being taken to a hospital following the attack at Amman Valley School in Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, Dyfed-Powys Police said.
“A teenage girl has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and currently remains in police custody,” police Superintendent Ross Evans said. A knife was recovered from the scene.
Evans didn’t disclose details of what happened or provide any information about the suspect. But he said the incident was over and the children had left the school.
Jonathan Edwards, an independent member of Parliament from the area, said that a student was stabbed and the teachers were wounded when they tried to intervene.
Edwards said that one teacher was treated for injuries to the arm and hand and the other was transferred to a hospital in Cardiff for more serious injuries.
“It is a huge shock, isn’t it really?” Edwards told Channel 5 News. “I’d never think that anything like this could possibly happen in Carmarthenshire, in the Amman Valley where I am from. I can’t recall anything like this ever happening in Wales before.”
School parent Charlotte Rogers, who was waiting outside the school for the lockdown to be lifted, said her daughter had been able to contact her about the attack and said she was scared.
“She’s a tough cookie so fingers crossed,” Charlotte Rogers said. “I just want to give her a big hug. I just want everyone to be safe. This shouldn’t have happened.”
Vaughan Gething, first minister of Wales, and U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak both said on the social media platform X that they were shocked to learn of the attack, which was initially referred to by police as a “major incident.”
Patrick Roach, general secretary of the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers, said that it was “extremely distressing” to hear about the attack.
“No teacher should have to fear being assaulted at work and everything that can be done must be done to ensure the safety of staff and pupils,” Roach said.