Cops arrest brother of girl, 13, held over school stabbing frenzy for making gun threats on social media
THE brother of a girl held on suspicion of attempted murder after a school stabbing frenzy was yesterday arrested for making gun threats on social media.
The 15-year-old lad was held and police found a BB gun following reports of threats “involving a firearm”.
It came hours after his 13-year-old sister was arrested over a knife attack at Dyffryn Aman school which left two teachers and a pupil needing hospital treatment.
The 1,500-pupil school in Ammanford, South West Wales, went into lockdown as children were heard screaming: “That girl’s got stabbed!”
Pupils ran to classrooms and hid under desks as the attack unfolded at about 11.15am on Wednesday.
Special needs teacher and mum-of-three Liz Hopkin, 57, suffered four serious stab wounds, her husband said yesterday.
John Hopkin, who also works at the school, said: “She’s seriously hurt. She’s recovering now, but it’s going to take quite a while.
“She’s very badly injured. Four quite deep stab wounds but they missed anything vital.
“It’s going to take a fair few weeks for the wounds to heal. It was quite frightening. She went off in the helicopter and I drove there (to the hospital). At the time they thought it could be life-threatening but not once they did all the tests on her.
“She’s very shaken, very concerned about the kids that were around and the other members of staff and children who were there.”
Mum-of-two Fiona Elias, the head of Year 9, was also stabbed. Her dad, John Owen, said: “I was extremely worried when I found out there had been an attack at the school.
“She phoned me at about 3pm to say she had superficial wounds to her hand.”
A pupil was also injured but all three have been released from hospital.
Teacher and rugby club chairman Darrel Campbell, who was on morning break duty and wearing a hi-vis jacket, subdued the attacker.
He grabbed the teen and put her in an armlock and snatched the weapon, said to be a butterfly knife.
His brother, Cefin, a Senedd member for Mid and West Wales, said Darrel had stepped in to prevent further injuries.
He added: “He has been a teacher there for 40 years. He was the first at the scene. He had to deal with a very stressful, chaotic situation.
“He did what most people would do and tried to calm things and restrain people from making the situation worse. He has been shaken by the whole experience. He has never, ever seen anything like this.
“Questions will have to be asked about security but our thoughts are with those who have been badly affected. There is a sense of disbelief but also a sense that this community will provide support. We are close-knit and resilient.”
Hundreds of parents gathered outside the school gates while pupils were kept on code-red lockdown for about four hours.
Head James Durbridge praised staff and pupils for their response. He wrote on the school’s website: “Today has been a very difficult day.
“It goes without saying that my thoughts are with the three individuals and their families, who have been affected.
“We’re proud to have witnessed pupils embodying the school’s core values while supporting peers and staff.
“I wish to commend all staff and pupils for their calm and mature response during today’s lockdown.”
The school remained closed yesterday as police looked for evidence.
Dyfed-Powys police declined to confirm the relationship between the two arrested teenagers but locals said they were brother and sister.
A police spokesman said: “A teenager from the Cross Hands area remains in custody after being arrested on suspicion of making threats, which had references to the incident at Dyffryn Aman.
“Police carried out a warrant at his home following reports about threatening messages being sent on social media, which led to his arrest during the early hours.”
Supt Ross Evans added: “We would like to thank the many members of the public who reported concerns around messages they had seen online. This allowed us to take swift action in executing a warrant and arresting a suspect.
“While this investigation is being run separately to our enquiries into the major incident yesterday, our officers will be seeking to establish both the credibility of the threats, and whether there was any connection between the alleged offences.”
- A GIRL aged 13 was last night charged with three counts of attempted murder.