Girl arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after teachers and pupil stabbed at school

BBCCopyright: BBC

Ammanford in Carmarthenshire is a market town which was once at the forefront of the south-west Wales’ mining industry.

But it was left in shock on Wednesday when a stabbing at a secondary school left two teachers and a pupil injured.

Police and ambulance crews raced to Ysgol Dyffryn Aman, while helicopters circled above and the number of panic-stricken parents began building up outside its gates.

While the pupils locked down inside, all the hundreds of parents assembling could do was peer through the railings and suffer the unbearable wait to hear if their sons and daughters were okay.

Read more here.

GettyCopyright: Getty

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Wales' First Minister Vaughan Gething were both "shocked" at reports of the stabbing at a secondary school in south-west Wales.

Two teachers and a pupil are injured in a stabbing at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman in Carmarthenshire and a teenage girl arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

"I want to thank the police and emergency services for their ongoing response and my thoughts are with all those affected," Sunak said on social media.

While Gething says he was "shocked to hear news of serious incident" in Ammanford.

"A deeply worrying time for the school, families and community. Diolch [thank you] to first responders," he said.

Home Secretary James Cleverly said he was being kept informed about the events in Ammanford.

Local Senedd member Adam Price, who is a former pupil at the school, said it was “extremely shocking and saddening to hear of this awful incident”.

“It is a very close-knit community and not something any of us would have imagine would have happed in our community,” said the former Plaid Cymru leader and MS for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr.

The school where the stabbing happened is in rural Carmarthenshire in south-west Wales and is about 20 miles (32km) from the centre of Swansea and 60 miles (97km) from Cardiff.

Ysgol Dyffryn Aman - which translates as Amman Valley School in English - is a bilingual comprehensive school in Ammanford.

The school, run by Carmarthenshire County Council, educates 11 to 18-year-olds and has about 1,450 pupils, with 270 in its sixth form.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Pupils and staff affected by today's school stabbing have been offered wellbeing support.

"To support Dyfed Powys Police, Ysgol Dyffryn Aman will be closed tomorrow to all pupils and staff in order for officers to further carry out their investigations," Carmarthenshire County Council leader Darren Price said.

"Although the school will be closed, I want to reassure pupils, parents and staff that wellbeing support is available to anyone who has been affected. The school will continue its lessons online."

As we’ve been reporting, two teachers were among the three people injured in this morning’s knife attack at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman.

Teachers and schools unions have been commenting on the incident, with Patrick Roach, from NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union, calling it “extremely distressing”.

“Schools should be places of safety and sanctuary, and it will be of the utmost concern for every teacher whenever that sense of safety and security has been broken,” he said.

“No teacher should have to fear being assaulted at work,” Roach added.

Schools union NAHT has also commented, with general secretary Paul Whiteman describing the incident as “shocking and traumatic”.

BBCCopyright: BBC

BBCCopyright: BBC

Police have been at the secondary school all afternoon after responding to reports of a stabbing at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman.

Pupils were put into lockdown and emergency services - including two air ambulances - arrived at the scene just after 11:15 BST.

Forensic investigators from Dyfed-Powys Police have also been on the campus in Carmarthenshire gathering evidence. Detectives have confirmed a knife has been found.

Officers have said two teachers and a pupil have been injured and in hospital with non life-threatening injuries and a teenage girl has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

Police said the school – which has an estimated 1,500 students – would remain closed on Thursday while investigations continue, with lessons conducted online.

Just after the incident at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman this morning, the school in Carmarthenshire was locked down.

The secondary school's head girl Megan Keyte said students were told they were in a “code red” situation when the stabbing took place just after 11:15 BST.

But what does "code red" mean?

BBCCopyright: BBC

Police confirm two teachers and a teenage pupil were taken to hospital with stab wounds after an incident at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman this morning.

Supt Ross Evans, Dyfed-Powys Police's Carmarthenshire commander, read a short statement outside the school in Ammanford and confirmed their injuries are not life threatening.

He confirmed a teenage girl had been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and currently remains in police custody.

Here's your full evening briefing of what we know from the school stabbing at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman in south-west Wales earlier today:

• Police say a teenage girl has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after three people - two teachers and a teenage pupil - were taken to hospital with stab wounds
• Emergency services - including two air ambulance helicopters - were called to the incident at the secondary school in Ammanford in Carmarthenshire just after 11:15 BST earlier today
• One person was flown to Wales' biggest hospital in Cardiff and police have confirmed the injuries were not life threatening and that a knife has been recovered from the scene
• Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Wales' First Minister Vaughan Gething reacted to the "shocking" incident
• Dyfed-Powys Police are urging people not to share footage of the incident on social media or speculate about what happened
• The school will be closed tomorrow while the police investigation continues and that pupils will do their lessons online

BBCCopyright: BBC

Speaking at a press conference outside the school Supt Ross Evans, Dyfed-Powys Police's Carmarthenshire commander, says Ysgol Dyffryn Aman will be closed tomorrow while the investigation continues.

He adds that pupils will do their lessons online.

Police say the injuries sustained by two teachers and a pupil in today's stabbing are not life threatening and a knife has been recovered.

Aerial footage shows crowds of parents lining the gates of Ysgol Dyffryn Aman waiting for their children earlier.

Pupils were subject to a lockdown for four hours following the stabbing before being allowed out of their classrooms.

Jonathan Edwards, an Independent MP for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, where the stabbing took place, said that children at a primary school across the road from Ysgol Dyffryn Aman also went into lockdown.

“It seems the procedures have been followed extremely well,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.

He added that he knows a number of staff at the school and that one of the teachers who was stabbed is a university friend of his.

Here's more from the statement from Dyfed-Powys Police.

It confirms that the force a received a call at just after 11.20 about the incident and that emergency services immediately attended, with the school placed in lockdown.

A teenage girl has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and currently remains in police custody.

Supt Ross Evans, Carmarthenshire commander, said: "I would like to reassure parents and the public that the incident has concluded, and pupils have now left the school.

"We are working with the school and other agencies to ensure appropriate support is available to all involved.

"This was a very distressing incident and our thoughts are with the victims, their family and everyone impacted by what has happened."

BBCCopyright: BBC

The school at the centre of Ammanford, the market town in south-west Wales, is much quieter now after it was launched into the spotlight earlier today.

Just over an hour ago, these fences were lined with hundreds of parents waiting for word on their children caught in a lockdown following reports of a stabbing.

Police confirmed that three people were injured and receiving treatment after the incident at 11:15 BST at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman.

Pupils were reunited with their parents after the lockdown was lifted at about 15:20 and the crowds dispersed - there is now more press than parents at the school gates.

Dyfed-Powys Police are continuing their investigations inside the school - a statement will be read outside at 17:30.

BBCCopyright: BBC

As we've been reporting, parents and children were reunited at the school gates earlier this afternoon, having waited for hours after the school was locked down.

One mum, Becks, told the BBC she was feeling “relieved”, and she hugged her son, Amron.

“It’s been a long day,” said another mum, Melanie, as she hugged her son Lex.