Two shopworkers have been stabbed to death outside their high-street store as they left together after a nightshift.
Zoe Morgan, 21, and Lee Simmons, 34, who had recently begun a relationship, were found dead on Queen Street in Cardiff shortly before 6am on Wednesday.
South Wales police said a 20-year-old man was in custody in connection with their deaths, and officers were not looking for anyone else. It is believed he was known to the couple.
The force said: “He was arrested with the assistance of Gwent police officers at an address in Castleton within an hour of the incident being reported.”
Both victims worked at the Cardiff branch of the fashion and homeware retailer Matalan.
A colleague said they had been in a relationship for around four months. “This is a terrible tragedy,” said the colleague. “They had only started seeing each other and made a lovely couple. We are all in bits.”
Morgan, who lived with her parents in Cardiff, had studied fashion at the University of South Wales before joining Matalan in the summer.
A neighbour said: “She was so excited about starting work and everything was going so well for her. Zoe went off to work as normal but never came home. She was a beautiful girl and this is terrible.”
Simmons, also of Cardiff, had worked at the store since it opened in October 2014. He had nicknamed Morgan “my Tinkerbell”.
Matalan’s chief executive, Jason Hargreaves, said: “It is with great sadness that we can confirm that 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.
“That is all we know at this stage and we are working tirelessly with the police in their investigations. We extend our condolences to the families of everyone involved.”
The suspect, who has not been named by police, was arrested at a farmhouse.
One neighbour said: “The first I knew there were seven police cars in our lane, and then a riot van with a cage on the front turned up. Later I heard a policeman say he’s gone. They took him away and the house was searched and I saw his car being removed.”
A police spokesman said: “Both families have been informed. They are being provided with support by South Wales police at this time. Postmortem examinations will be carried out to determine the causes of the deaths. At this stage it is believed that they sustained stab wounds.”
A large part of the pedestrianised area of Queen Street was cordoned off. Dozens of businesses had to close and hundreds of office workers were sent home.
People at the scene reported seeing blood on the ground. One man said: “One of the victims was found outside Boots; the other was just over the other side of the road outside Matalan. The police then arrived and sealed off the whole street, and forensics officers set up a tent over the area.”
Ch Supt 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.”
The flagship Matalan store was opened by Welsh fashion designer Julien Macdonald in 2014. It employs 366 people and is split across four floors, selling budget clothes and homeware.
Anybody with information about the incident was urged to contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
