Wales stabbing: Elderly churchwarden named as victim, as nurse and two others recovering from wounds

88-year-old John Rees has been described as a ‘lovely gentleman’

Forensic officers at the scene of a stabbing at a Co-op supermarket in the village of Pen Y Graig, South Wales, 5 May 2020. (Ben Birchall/PA Wire)

An elderly man stabbed to death at a village supermarket in Wales was reportedly an 88-year-old churchwarden.

The victim, named locally as John Rees, was one of four people knifed at the Co-op store in Pen Y Graig, Rhondda Valley, on Tuesday afternoon.

Floral tributes left outside All Saints Church in nearby Trealaw described Mr Rees, who is understood to have been his wife’s carer, as a “lovely gentleman” who rang the church bells every Thursday to show appreciation for the NHS, according to an ITV report.

Joshua Davies, councillor for Pen Y Graig ward, tweeted his condolences, saying: “My thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of John Rees from Trealaw. Rest in Peace John.”

The three other victims of the attack, one of which is believed to be a nurse, survived and are being treated in hospital.

A 29-year-old woman from Porth was arrested on suspicion of murder and continues to be held at Merthyr Tydfil police station.

South Wales Police has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, but did not say why.

Eyewitnesses described seeing people fleeing the store on Tylacelyn Road after a woman began attacking shoppers with a knife at about 1.45pm on Tuesday.

Ravi Raj, 35, manager at the Pen Y Graig post office, said: “I saw one of the men bleeding from his neck and one of the women from the side of the neck.”

Kenan Bastug, who was working in his brother’s kebab shop, said a woman ran into their shop after being stabbed in the neck.

He told the PA news agency: “There was no blood but we could see like a one-and-a-half-centimetre wound.

“She was shocked and didn’t talk. She was crying. She was trying to stop the girl stabbing the guy, and then she got stabbed as well, I think. That’s what she said.

Forensic officers at the scene of a stabbing at a Co-op supermarket in the village of Pen Y Graig in South Wales, 5 May 2020. (Ben Birchall/PA)

“She had a badge on that said NHS. But I don’t know whether she worked for the NHS or not.”

Another witness, who was sitting in a car outside the Co-op, said she saw an injured man in a van next to her being attended to by medics.

“This was the man who had been stabbed repeatedly, they took him out of the van and placed him into the ambulance,” she said.

Businesses in the village were told to lock their doors as armed police and ambulances arrived at the scene.

People spoke of their shock at the incident, in an area which has colourful banners draped along Tylacelyn Road in support of the NHS.

Rhondda MP Chris Bryant said: “You can’t get more normal and ordinary than the Co-op in Pen Y Graig.

“So this feels horrific and extraordinary. My heart goes out to those who’ve been directly affected and my thanks goes to the police and NHS.”

Divisional commander Chief Superintendent Dorian Lloyd said: “Yesterday’s horrific incident in Pen Y Graig was extremely distressing and shocking for the local community.

“I would like to pay tribute to the members of the public and police officers for their efforts at the scene, rendering first aid to those involved in this incident.

“Pen Y Graig is a small close-knit community which has been put into the national spotlight in such tragic circumstances.

“I would like to reassure the local community that the police response to the incident was extremely swift and officers were at the scene within minutes.

“We will continue to maintain a visible presence to support those in the area as they try and come to terms with what has happened.

“My thoughts and condolences remain with the victim’s family and all those affected by this incident at a very sad time.”

Additional reporting by Press Association.