Cardiff double stabbing: First pictures of victims emerge

The victims of an early morning stabbing in a busy Cardiff city centre have been named locally as 33-year-old Lee Simmons and his 21-year-old girlfriend Zoe Morgan. The pair were both found dead following an attack on Queen Street in the Welsh capital at around 5.50am.

The pair were a couple who both worked at the Matalan store on the street where they were found murdered. A 20-year-old man from Gwent has since been arrested and officers are not looking for anyone else at this time.

Following their deaths, Matalan Chief executive Jason Hargreaves said: "It is with great sadness that we can confirm there was a fatal stabbing in Queen Street, Cardiff this morning.

"Police discovered the bodies of a man and a woman outside the premises at 6am and arrested one man, who is currently in police custody. Both of the victims worked at our Cardiff branch so understandably all of our colleagues are receiving our full support.

"We request that they are given the space to deal with this at this difficult time. We extend our condolences to the families of everyone involved."

Police said they believed Morgan and Simmons were known to their attacker and ruled out suggestions the stabbing was terror related.

Chief Superintendent Belinda Davies said: "This incident occurred in the main shopping area in the heart of the city in rush hour and it has no doubt shocked the community of Cardiff. Please be reassured that we have a team of officers investigating what happened and importantly we have a suspect in custody and we are not looking for anybody else.

"We are in the very early stages of the investigation but I would like to add that at this stage we believe the suspect was known to the victims and it was not a random assault. I would like to dispel speculation circulating as to the motive behind this tragic incident and make it clear that this is not being linked to terrorism, and any links to the homeless community are unfounded."

Police are also asking people not to share "graphic photographs" of the scene on social media. They added via Twitter: "Please be mindful this is a traumatic time for families involved."

A Welsh ambulance service spokesperson added: "We sent a paramedic in a rapid response car, three emergency ambulances and the trust's hazardous area response team to the scene."