A 28-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a 29-year-old woman who is reportedly pregnant was stabbed in a village in South Wales.
Armed police searched for the suspect after the woman was attacked in Moy Road, Aberfan, at about 9.10am on Tuesday.
South Wales Police said they arrested a man from Merthyr on suspicion of attempted murder and held him in custody.
Lynne Terrett, from Merthyr Tydfil, told the PA news agency her daughter, Kira Terrett, was walking her dog near home when she saw the attack.
#ARREST | Following a report that a 29-year-old woman had been stabbed on Moy Road, #Aberfan, #Merthyr earlier this morning, officers have arrested a 28-year-old man from Merthyr on suspicion of attempt murder.
— South Wales Police (@swpolice) December 5, 2023
He is currently in police custody. pic.twitter.com/z9yWpSmeqW
She said her daughter looked around when she heard the sound of the woman running towards her.
“(The woman) fell,” she said.
“My daughter screamed and people came out from everywhere.”
She said the knifeman fled.
“If she had not screamed, people would not have gone out,” she said.
Ms Terrett said her daughter was shaken, and added that the victim was pregnant.
Police said the woman was taken to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff for treatment.
A Welsh Ambulance Service spokesman said: “We sent one emergency ambulance, one air ambulance and one Cymru high acuity response unit to the scene, where advanced critical care support was delivered by the emergency medical retrieval and transfer service.
“We conveyed one patient by road to University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, for further treatment.”
Schools and a community centre were closed as a precaution.
Susan Prothero, who has lived in Aberfan for 30 years, told PA: “(It’s) a very quiet area.
“I have lived here 30 years and nothing like this has happened here.”