Families’ terror as school locks down
Parents gather at gates as news of horrific stabbing spreads across the town
RELIEVED parents tearfully embraced their children at the school gates yesterday after gathering there as news of the multiple stabbing spread.
Ammanford’s 1,800-pupil comprehensive school was in lockdown after two teachers and a pupil were injured at morning break.
As the sound of sirens filled the air in the small Carmarthenshire town of less than 6,000 residents, worried mothers and fathers gathered outside the Ysgol Dyffryn Aman, desperate for news that their youngsters were safe.
Such was the initial panic in the community, a primary school across the road from Ysgol Dyffryn Aman also went into lockdown in case the crisis escalated.
One parent, who was among those who waiting four hours before their children were allowed home, said: ‘It is terrifying to think this can happen on an ordinary school day morning.’
Another said: ‘This is a quiet area and a nice school with a good community. We just can’t figure out what has gone on. It is unbelievable.’ Pupils described dramatic scenes as the suspect went on rampage, while the school’s PA system broadcast a ‘ code red’ alert – an emergency procedure under which they were supposed to be kept locked in classrooms with blinds down and all phones turned to silent.
In scenes more familiar from American high schools, some teenagers even hid in cupboards. Others who were outside when the alert was given jumped over the school fence and ran.
One boy said: ‘It was horrible, there was blood all over the ground but I didn’t panic.
‘ Both teachers were badly hurt but one was stabbed in the neck. She is one of the best teachers here, everybody likes her.’
A young student who jumped the school fence to escape said: ‘It was at the end of the morning break when I heard Code Red being called over the speakers.
‘You’re supposed to run to a classroom but I was closer to the school fence so me and a few other boys jumped it.’
As some pupils hid, they sent messages to their parents to let them know what was happening inside the bilingual English-Welsh school. But most were kept inside locked classrooms and told to keep their heads down until the danger had passed.
When the children were allowed out of school at 3.30pm, the usual time, they were hugged by their parents.
One mother, Lisa Barrett, was alerted to the incident by a text from her daughter. She said: ‘You hear from your child saying someone has been stabbed, you don’t know what to do. You just don’t expect it, you send your children to school and think they will be safe.’
Megan Keyte, 18, head girl at the school said she had never heard the words ‘code red’ before.
‘One of my friends was inside just trying to do her psychology lesson and they were told “code red, you’re in lockdown”,’ she told the BBC.
‘We’ve never really needed it. Obviously there are precautions in place if there was something to happen. You never expect something like this to happen in our school or this area. But it shows how the community comes together so quickly.’
The injured teachers had been taken by two air ambulances to hospital – with the helicopters landing on the school playing field.
Witnesses said one of the injured teachers was carried by six paramedics into a waiting helicopter.
Grandmother Maria Davies, 50, said: ‘She didn’t look very good – there were medics all around her. Not long after, I saw the schoolgirl in handcuffs being taken into a police car.’
Mrs Davies was among hundreds of worried parents who dashed to the school gates after video of the stabbings was posted on social media.
One parent said: ‘We are all praying for the teacher. Everyone is worried sick but the police assured parents at the school gates that they (had) it contained.’
Footage of the stabbing was quickly shared on social media – leading to police warning that it could be prejudicial in future legal proceedings or distressing to the victims.
School governor and councillor, Karen Davies, said: ‘It is shocking. You hear about these things happening in Manchester and London. I send my thoughts to those injured. I know how well the school rehearsed lockdown and I am sure everything is under control.’
‘I jumped the school fence’