Three victims of a school stabbing attack have now been released from hospital – as the brother of a hero teacher who disarmed the teenage suspect revealed he wants to return to work.
Darrel Campbell rushed towards the alleged attacker and put him in an arm lock after yesterday morning’s horrific attack at Amman Valley School in Ammanford, Carmarthenshire.
Two teachers were injured – one of whom was reportedly stabbed in the neck – as well as a student. The teachers injured in the attack are believed to be Fiona Elias, the deputy headteacher, and Liz Hopkin, a special education teacher.
A spokeswoman for Dyfed-Powys Police today confirmed the victims have now been released.
Carmarthenshire Superintendent Ross Evans said: “As would be expected with an incident as serious as this, there will still be a police presence at the school throughout the day today. today.
Darrel Campbell (left) disarmed the alleged attacker and put him in an arm lock before emergency services arrived at Amman Valley School in Ammanford.
“Officers on site will be searching for evidence to assist the investigation, while other specialist teams will analyze any information submitted via our dedicated webpage.
“We understand the level of concern in the community as people try to deal with the incident.
“We urge anyone affected by yesterday’s events to seek help and not share any videos, photos or information that may cause further distress to students or parents at the school.”
Darrel Campbell, the teacher who subdued the alleged Ammanford school attacker, does not consider himself a hero, his brother insisted.
Mr Campbell disarmed the alleged attacker and put him in an arm lock before emergency services arrived at the school.
Cefin Campbell, Senedd MP for Mid and West Wales, said: “He’s embarrassed by all the attention he’s received, he certainly doesn’t see himself as a hero.
“He simply told me that he did what most people would do: he acted instinctively, he saw the danger and acted.”
“He really wants to downplay anything other than just being a normal citizen, even though he’s a teacher in a school facing a very difficult situation.”
Mr Campbell would understandably be “shaken” by the incident. He was seen in a previous social media photo posing outside the Harbourmaster Hotel in Aberaeron.
Cefin Campbell, Senedd MP for Mid and West Wales, said of his brother: ‘He is embarrassed by all the attention he has received’
Darrel Campbell, who has been with the school for about 40 years, officially retired last year, but was brought back part-time to help with pastoral care.
He and his brother attended the school as pupils.
Cefin Campbell said he expects his brother to return to work when school reopens.
He said: “The school is closed today so he is going away, but he fully intends to return as soon as the school reopens.
“He wants to be there, with the other staff, to support each other and the students in their care.
“He has taken this role very seriously throughout his life and he will return to it to make sure students are in a good place.”
Speaking on BBC Radio Wales, the politician said: “He’s been a teacher there for 40 years and he was involved in yesterday’s incident in the sense that he was the first on the scene and he obviously had to deal with a very difficult and chaotic situation.
“He probably did what most people would have done in the same situation: try to calm things down and stop people from making the situation worse.”
“Obviously he was shaken by the whole experience, as were all the staff, students, parents, etc.
“But I think it’s a feeling of shock because he’s been there 40 years as a teacher, he’s never seen anything like this.
“I think people understand that this should happen in a place like this.”
South West Wales school was closed after a ‘code red’ alarm sounded over the public address system, during which pupils and staff reportedly hid in classrooms – a student allegedly crossed the school fence to get to safety.
The lockdown lasted about four hours between 11:20 a.m. and 3:20 p.m., leading to a long and anxious wait for parents who were seen hugging their children in tears after walking through the doors.
Three people injured following ‘major incident’ at school (pictured)
Crowds of parents wait outside the school gates and watch as first responders respond to the incident.
Footage of the incident has circulated online, with a number of newspapers reporting the contents of a video in which a panicked student can be heard screaming about someone being stabbed.
Mr Campbell said questions would be asked in the Senedd about safety in schools in Wales.
“Hopefully this is an isolated case, but you just don’t know how much society has changed. We need to ask ourselves questions about how we move forward,” he told BBC Radio Wales.
“We certainly don’t want to go the American route, but there are parts of the UK where bags are checked daily, there are metal detectors, as well as random checks by the police.
“None of us want to go down this path, but obviously we have to ask questions. What lessons can we learn from this?
All three victims were taken to hospital with stab wounds, but Dyfed-Powys Police said their injuries were not life-threatening.
Police also said a knife was recovered.
Amman Valley School – a bilingual comprehensive school for students aged 11 to 18 – will not open its doors on Thursday to allow police to continue their investigation.
It is also known as Ysgol Dyffryn Aman and is run by Carmarthenshire County Council and provides education for 1,450 pupils, in addition to 270 sixth form pupils.
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