The shocking stabbing incident that took place at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman in Carmarthenshire on April 24, 2024. Two faculty members sustained gunshot wounds and students were held in lockdown for several hours. Darren Campbell, the long-time veteran educator—42 years at the school—immediately went into hero mode. He managed to overpower the attacker, his schoolmate, who had been a girl and still held a knife. The tragedy has led to renewed calls for increased security as well as more mental health resources in schools.
Darren Campbell, who now teaches behavior and pastoral care at the school, remembered that terrifying ordeal. Once I saw the knife, I knew I had to protect her. But she said that she was going to kill [the student],” Campbell recounted. His actions may have saved countless lives from further harm during what he called a scene “as if it occurred yesterday. The impact has taken an emotional toll, as Campbell, who described having “more than a few sleepless nights” in the wake of the event.
The deadly attack sent two teachers, Ms. Elias and Ms. Hopkin, with several stab wounds. During the encounter, she and he were both scared for their lives. Their heroic actions and swift actions helped to handle the worst of the crisis until first responders were able to arrive on scene. Students were held in lockdown for multiple hours, highlighting the failure and repercussions of school emergency response plans.
Darren Campbell further stressed that he had never witnessed anything so “extreme” in his 30-year career. He criticized his lived experience, but he hadn’t been involved in any conversations regarding the incident with local educational leaders. The only one who I’ve really had a conversation with is my brother. Nobody from Carmarthen education authority has got in touch with me,” he said.
Cefin Campbell MS, Darren’s brother, is becoming a true advocate for safer schools. As Plaid Cymru’s education spokesperson in the Senedd, Luke is calling for urgent action to address this key priority. He emphasized the need for a thorough review of policies governing school environments, stating, “I’d like to think it was an isolated incident, I’d like to think it would never happen again in any school in Wales.” He didn’t shy away from the larger societal issues, like housing and policing, enacted and perpetuated by those in power, that are often reflected in schools and felt by students.
Once alerted, the local authority took the swift step of referring the matter to the Regional Safeguarding Board. For now, they’re left waiting — with fingers crossed — on the board’s decision of how to proceed with a multi-agency environmental review. The tragedy has renewed calls for increased mental health resources in schools. Today, there’s a momentum for staff to receive increased training on how to deescalate these essential interactions.
