The Welsh Government has paid tribute to how the emergency services handled Monday night's riot in the Ely area of Cardiff. Rioting broke out in a Cardiff suburb on the evening of Monday, May 22 after two teenagers died in a crash.
Kyrees Sullivan, 16, and 15-year-old Harvey Evans were killed in the Ely area of Cardiff while riding an electric bike. Tensions reached breaking point after officers were called to the scene in Snowden Road shortly after 6pm.
Minister for social justice and chief whip Jane Hutt was asked about the incident as she spoke in the Welsh Parliament. She said she "was shocked and saddened... to hear of the tragic death of two young people" and that "our thoughts are with the family and friends of the two young people involved."
She then went on to thank the emergency services for how they handled the incident saying that their handling was "exemplary". She said: "I would like to take the opportunity, along with the points that you've made, to thank all those services, and indeed, the community itself—all those services involved, health, police, the local authority, fire and rescue services—for the exemplary way they've pulled together to handle the situation.
"And I think it is a reflection of the excellent community safety partnership work that's been done in that part of Cardiff, focusing on it last night. It enabled those services to work together so well in this fast-moving and tragic situation."
Tensions grew as hundreds of people gathered near the scene of the crash and police, some in riot gear, spent the next nine hours dealing with what they described as "large-scale disorder". Missiles were thrown at officers, cars were set on fire and fireworks were let off as officers tried to bring the situation under control. You can follow our updates as the clean up continues here.
Ms Hutt added: "I do understand that South Wales Police have made arrests in connection with the disorder, and that more will follow, but, clearly, this is something where our thoughts are also with the community—such a warm and strong community. I know, obviously, that the local authority, our colleagues and elected representatives, the leader of the council, were all engaged in this. And I was listening to the phone-in with Jason Mohammed—of course, from the Ely area—who actually interviewed Reverend Jan Gould from the Church of the Resurrection. It's a strong community in Ely, and we must remember this as we look to follow up and hear, obviously, what has happened, what the circumstances were surrounding this tragic series of events."
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