Sunday, August 14, 2011
Six people have died as the result of a knife-related attack in Jersey, located within the Channel Islands. Among those killed are three children, two women and one man. The victims have remained unidentified but were all Jersey residents.
In the aftermath of a multiple-stabbing scenario at Upper Midvale Road, police were informed of events at approximately 1500 BST (1400 UTC) today. At Jersey General Hospital, a man has been detained under police custody and will remain in the hospital until he recovers from surgery. A murder investigation has now been commenced. As it stands, police are not looking for any other individual in relation to the events.
Speaking of behalf of States of Jersey Police, Detective Superintendent Stewart Gull explained, “This complex investigation is in its very early stages as we try to establish exactly what happened,” and that the police force is aware “of the impact of any such serious and tragic incident on the local community, and we have police officers in the area to support the investigation and local people.” Gull additionally said that “[d]ealing with multiple deaths of men, women and particularly young children” unsettled members of the emergency services, but they nevertheless remained “tremendously professional”. Gull described Jersey as an “incredibly safe island, probably one of the safest places in the Western world,” where events such as these are “extremely rare”.
Numerous witnesses have contacted the police in relation to the incident and are now being interviewed. Police, who are attempting to identify the dead, are currently at the scene alongside forensic investigators and detectives.