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14 August 2011
Last updated at 16:16 ET
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Detective Superintendent Stewart Gull of States of Jersey Police has appealed for witnesses to come forward
Six people, including two children, have been killed after a stabbing incident in Jersey, police have said.
Police were called to a flat at Victoria Crescent, Upper Midvale Road, at 15:00 BST after reports of a multiple stabbing incident.
A 30-year-old man is in police custody at Jersey General Hospital where he is also recovering from surgery.
Two men and two women died. Their identities and ages are unconfirmed but police say they were Jersey residents.
The hospital's emergency department was temporarily closed to all non-urgent cases as staff treated the victims, but re-opened at 1750 BST.
A number of witnesses have come forward and are currently being interviewed by police as officers make efforts to identify the victims.
Forensic officers are at the scene, together with a number of uniformed officers and detectives.
'Complex investigation' States of Jersey Police head of crime services Stewart Gull, who is leading the inquiry, said: "Clearly this complex investigation is in its very early stages as we try to establish exactly what happened.
"We are mindful, too, 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."
Mr Gull, who led the inquiry into the killings of five Ipswich prostitutes in 2006, admitted he was shaken by the Jersey incident and that it had been "pretty traumatic" for emergency services staff called to the scene.
"Dealing with multiple deaths of men, women and particularly young children, it has shaken the force but the officers who initially responded were tremendously professional," he said.
"Jersey is an incredibly safe island, probably one of the safest places in the Western world. Incidents of this nature are an extremely rare occurrence."
He added that he was unable to confirm the nationalities of those killed, speculate as to the relationship between them or indicate how old the children were.
A major incident room has been set up and police are appealing for anyone with information to contact them.
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Andre Thorpe told the BBC he saw the ambulances arrive at the scene of the stabbings in St Helier
A cordon is around the scene, preventing some residents from returning to their properties. The island's town hall and a residential home have been opened for them to stay at.
Private house Witness Andre Thorpe said he believed all the victims were members of the same family.
Mr Thorpe said: "For Jersey it was a major incident. Two ambulances turned up first because it was within a quarter of mile of the ambulance station.
"Then four or five police vehicles came, all blues and twos.
"They were trying to access a private house in the crescent. It was an old Victorian terrace, a lot of them are split into flats."
Mr Thorpe added that the area where the incident happened was quite secluded.
Continue reading the main story Jersey fact file
"I was first aware something was happening when I saw people looking out for the ambulances as I walked up the road," he said.
The BBC's Edward Sault spoke to a neighbour, who said he saw police attempting to resuscitate someone on the pavement outside the house.
Hospital staff were called in on their days off to help following the attack.
Angela Body, director of operations at the general hospital, thanked staff for coming in.
She said: "The teamwork spanned across many service areas including the ambulance, medical, nursing and support staff who all helped with a serious and unusual situation.
"As ever, staff worked quickly and in a professional way to help those who were brought in for treatment and care.
"I would like to thank those members of the public for their patience during this time.
"Our thoughts are with the friends and families of those involved at this sad and difficult time."
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Detective Superintendent Stewart Gull of States of Jersey Police has appealed for witnesses to come forward
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Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.Detective Superintendent Stewart Gull of States of Jersey Police has appealed for witnesses to come forward
Six people, including two children, have been killed after a stabbing incident in Jersey, police have said.
Police were called to a flat at Victoria Crescent, Upper Midvale Road, at 15:00 BST after reports of a multiple stabbing incident.
A 30-year-old man is in police custody at Jersey General Hospital where he is also recovering from surgery.
Two men and two women died. Their identities and ages are unconfirmed but police say they were Jersey residents.
The hospital's emergency department was temporarily closed to all non-urgent cases as staff treated the victims, but re-opened at 1750 BST.
A number of witnesses have come forward and are currently being interviewed by police as officers make efforts to identify the victims.
Forensic officers are at the scene, together with a number of uniformed officers and detectives.
'Complex investigation' States of Jersey Police head of crime services Stewart Gull, who is leading the inquiry, said: "Clearly this complex investigation is in its very early stages as we try to establish exactly what happened.
"We are mindful, too, 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."
Mr Gull, who led the inquiry into the killings of five Ipswich prostitutes in 2006, admitted he was shaken by the Jersey incident and that it had been "pretty traumatic" for emergency services staff called to the scene.
"Dealing with multiple deaths of men, women and particularly young children, it has shaken the force but the officers who initially responded were tremendously professional," he said.
"Jersey is an incredibly safe island, probably one of the safest places in the Western world. Incidents of this nature are an extremely rare occurrence."
He added that he was unable to confirm the nationalities of those killed, speculate as to the relationship between them or indicate how old the children were.
A major incident room has been set up and police are appealing for anyone with information to contact them.
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.Andre Thorpe told the BBC he saw the ambulances arrive at the scene of the stabbings in St Helier
A cordon is around the scene, preventing some residents from returning to their properties. The island's town hall and a residential home have been opened for them to stay at.
Private house Witness Andre Thorpe said he believed all the victims were members of the same family.
Mr Thorpe said: "For Jersey it was a major incident. Two ambulances turned up first because it was within a quarter of mile of the ambulance station.
"Then four or five police vehicles came, all blues and twos.
"They were trying to access a private house in the crescent. It was an old Victorian terrace, a lot of them are split into flats."
Mr Thorpe added that the area where the incident happened was quite secluded.
Continue reading the main story Jersey fact file
- Jersey, which is part of the Channel Islands, has a population of about 91,000 of whom the overwhelming majority is made up of native islanders of Norman French and British extraction. European Union citizens, including a prominent community from Portugal, also live on the island.
- As Crown Dependencies the islands are not part of the United Kingdom or European Union, nor are they colonies or overseas territories of the United Kingdom like Gibraltar.
- The Crown is responsible for defence, diplomatic representation and citizenship, while the islands maintain their own controls over housing and employment.
- The economy of the islands is dominated by financial services, tourism, electronic commerce and agriculture.
- The relatively light tax burden has encouraged a booming offshore finance sector.
"I was first aware something was happening when I saw people looking out for the ambulances as I walked up the road," he said.
The BBC's Edward Sault spoke to a neighbour, who said he saw police attempting to resuscitate someone on the pavement outside the house.
Hospital staff were called in on their days off to help following the attack.
Angela Body, director of operations at the general hospital, thanked staff for coming in.
She said: "The teamwork spanned across many service areas including the ambulance, medical, nursing and support staff who all helped with a serious and unusual situation.
"As ever, staff worked quickly and in a professional way to help those who were brought in for treatment and care.
"I would like to thank those members of the public for their patience during this time.
"Our thoughts are with the friends and families of those involved at this sad and difficult time."
Are you in the area? Send us your comments using the form below.
Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.
Read the terms and conditions
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.Detective Superintendent Stewart Gull of States of Jersey Police has appealed for witnesses to come forward
Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feed | Amazon Plugin | Settlement Statement | WordPress Tutorials