3 weeks ago
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The schoolgirl who died after a fatal assault in County Wexford has been named locally as eight-year-old Malikika Al Kattib.
It is being reported she was stabbed when she intervened in an attempt to protect her mother from being attacked at a house in New Ross on Sunday night.
A close relative of her mother "came across the most horrific scene" of Malikika being resuscitated, councillor John Dwyer told BBC News NI.
He said the woman told him that the "entire family are devastated" by the child's death.
A man and a woman in their 30s were treated in hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
It is understood Gardaí (Irish police) are following a definite line of inquiry.
Dwyer, an independent member of Wexford County Council, is a friend of Malikika's relative who witnessed the aftermath of the attack and spoke to him by phone.
"The distress and the pain in the voice, it was just horrific," the councillor said, adding it was the sort of phone call he would "never wish to hear again".
The relative learned about the incident in the early hours of Monday and rushed to the scene on foot, he explained.
Malikika was taken to hospital in Waterford where she died from her injuries.
"New Ross is really stunned by this tragedy," said Michael O'Toole, the Irish Mirror's crime and defence editor.
"At a quarter to midnight on Sunday Malikika was in bed at her home," he told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme.
"She heard a commotion downstairs and she went down to investigate.
"Essentially Malikika saw her mother being attacked and there was a knife involved and she intervened.
"She got in between the two people and she received at least two stab wounds."
Mr O'Toole said Malikika's mother and a man present at the scene also sustained stab wounds.
The journalist explained Malikika's mother had been born in Ireland and converted to Islam several years ago.
The attack happened a very short distance away from New Ross Garda Station.
Gardaí are not routinely armed, so an armed support unit was deployed to the scene and they provided first aid to all three of the injured.
On Tuesday morning, Gardaí said there no update in the investigation in terms of arrests as yet.
Malikika attended a local primary school, New Ross Educate Together National School, in nearby Barrett's Park.
It released a statement on Monday describing her death as a "terrible tragedy for the family, our school and our community".
