Schoolgirl, 8, killed 'trying to save mother from attack'

The schoolgirl who died aft a fatal battle successful County Wexford has been named locally arsenic eight-year-old Malikika Al Kattib.

It is being reported she was stabbed erstwhile she intervened successful an effort to support her parent from being attacked astatine a location successful New Ross connected Sunday night.

A adjacent comparative of her parent "came crossed the astir horrific scene" of Malikika being resuscitated, councillor John Dwyer told BBC News NI.

He said the pistillate told him that the "entire household are devastated" by the child's death.

A antheral and a pistillate successful their 30s were treated successful infirmary for non-life-threatening injuries.

It is understood Gardaí (Irish police) are pursuing a definite enactment of inquiry.

Dwyer, an autarkic subordinate of Wexford County Council, is simply a person of Malikika's comparative who witnessed the aftermath of the onslaught and spoke to him by phone.

"The distress and the symptom successful the voice, it was conscionable horrific," the councillor said, adding it was the benignant of telephone telephone helium would "never privation to perceive again".

The comparative learned astir the incidental successful the aboriginal hours of Monday and rushed to the country connected foot, helium explained.

Malikika was taken to infirmary successful Waterford wherever she died from her injuries.

"New Ross is truly stunned by this tragedy," said Michael O'Toole, the Irish Mirror's transgression and defence editor.

"At a 4th to midnight connected Sunday Malikika was successful furniture astatine her home," helium told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme.

"She heard a commotion downstairs and she went down to investigate.

"Essentially Malikika saw her parent being attacked and determination was a weapon progressive and she intervened.

"She got successful betwixt the 2 radical and she received astatine slightest 2 stab wounds."

Mr O'Toole said Malikika's parent and a antheral contiguous astatine the country besides sustained stab wounds.

The writer explained Malikika's parent had been calved successful Ireland and converted to Islam respective years ago.

The onslaught happened a precise abbreviated region distant from New Ross Garda Station.

Gardaí are not routinely armed, truthful an equipped enactment portion was deployed to the country and they provided archetypal assistance to each 3 of the injured.

On Tuesday morning, Gardaí said determination nary update successful the probe successful presumption of arrests arsenic yet.

Malikika attended a section superior school, New Ross Educate Together National School, successful adjacent Barrett's Park.

It released a connection connected Monday describing her decease arsenic a "terrible calamity for the family, our schoolhouse and our community".