Co-op stabbing: Grandfather John Rees, 88, killed in Penygraig

An 88-year-old man who died in a knife attack in a shop in south Wales has been named as John Rees.

Mr Rees had been shopping in the Co-op, in Penygraig, Rhondda, when he was stabbed at about 13:45 BST on Tuesday.

A 29-year-old woman from Porth has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

Another man is said to be in a stable condition at the University Hospital of Wales, in Cardiff. Two other people have non-life-threatening injuries.

The grandfather, from Trealaw, had left his wife Eunice in the car while he queued up to go into the village store on Tylacelyn Road for their weekly groceries when he was killed.

His family paid tribute to Mr Rees in a statement, saying: "John was the very definition of a good man, extremely respected and liked in the community.

"He was proud of his family, proud to be a Welshman and devoted to All Saints Church. We will all miss him terribly."

Tributes have been left outside the Co-op

Another family friend said Mr Rees was a "pillar of the community".

"He was known to everyone around here as Uncle John, he was that sort of man," he said.

"He was the perfect gentleman."

The grandfather-of-two had worked for the South Wales Electricity Board before he retired.

'Just a very lovely person'

Tributes have been left to Mr Rees at All Saints Church

Local resident Carol Jones said Mr Rees was "a lovely man".

"He was a gentleman - a pillar of the community, always very pleasant - just a very lovely person," she said.

"It was a nightmare to hear what happened yesterday. I couldn't speak - it was terrible, terrible."

Ms Jones said she had known Mr Rees since she was a teenager working in the Co-op herself.

Nurse injured

Penygraig resident Carol Jones said victim John Rees was a "lovely man"

One of the other people injured has been named locally as nurse Lisa Way, who is understood to have been taken to the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant for treatment.

"I heard she went to help out and got caught up in the middle of the fight," said Ms Jones, who described Ms Way as a friend.

Det Ch Insp Mark O'Shea, of South Wales Police's major crime investigations team, said the force was not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.

"This is a very tragic incident and one man has died and his family is being supported by specially trained police officers," he said.

"Our thoughts and condolences remain with the victim's family at this very sad time."

He added: "This incident will have understandably caused a lot of shock in the local community and I want to reassure residents that a full investigation has been launched."

In a video filmed in the village, Ch Supt Dorian Lloyd said it had been a "dreadful" incident for the community.

Police returned to the scene on Wednesday

The MP for Rhondda Chris Bryant said he understood Mr Rees would ring the village church bells on Thursdays for key workers during the coronavirus outbreak.

Writing on social media, he said his office was trying to arrange for the bells to be rung in his memory this Thursday.

South Wales Police said it would refer the incident to the Independent Office of Police Conduct, following "prior police contact with the suspect".

The IOPC said it was awaiting a formal referral from the force "which will be assessed to decide whether any IOPC investigation is required".

Update 7 May 2020: An earlier version of this story included information about Mr Rees which has since been clarified.