zenduck.me: Ipswich town centre murder The ripple effect is absolutely catastrophic

The fatal stabbing of 18-year-old Raymond James Quigley on a busy shopping street in the middle of the afternoon has sent shockwaves through Ipswich. As police continue their inquiries into Tuesday’s incident, what has been the response?

Westgate Street, a pedestrianised shopping street in Ipswich town centre, became a crime scene after Tuesday’s “targeted” attack.

A Section 60 order, which ran for three 24-hour periods, gave officers additional powers to stop and search and a mobile police station on Cornhill will be manned into the early hours.

Police said they were conducting numerous inquiries, including forensic work, searches and CCTV analysis.

“It came as devastating news for the town and for us,” Supt Andy Martin told the BBC.

“A lot of the officers that you see out and about in Ipswich live here and have grown up here, they feel the same sense of loss the community does.

“[This] is not something in my memory that has happened so brazenly in Ipswich, and naturally that is going to come with a huge sense of loss and how people feel going into town.”

He said the circumstances of the incident, witnessed by many people outside Marks and Spencer and Primark at 15:35 GMT, would obviously have an immediate effect on the town centre.

“It would be remiss of me not to expect a reduction in footfall in the town after an incident like this,” he added.

“People are naturally nervous in wanting to go into the town, so it’s going to have a short-term impact.

“We’re going to be working really closely with our partners to ensure the reputation is what it deserves – it is a safe place to go, it is a vibrant place to go.

“It’s just a regrettable set of circumstances.”

Paul Stansby runs the Lucky 13 tattoo studio, just a five-minute walk from Westgate Street, where the stabbing happened.

He said hearing the news brought back memories of his brother Dean’s fatal stabbing near Ipswich railway station on 8 February 2017.

“It’s coming up to the six-year anniversary and there have been a few stabbings since, but this one has really hit the security of our town,” he said.

“It’s right there, it was right in the prime time of the day, it was brazen, as police have said.

“What are we going to have to do to keep ourselves safe?”

He has directly engaged with people in danger of slipping into the world of violent crime, having set up the Be Lucky Anti-Crime Foundation in his brother’s memory.

“Events like this – it really brings back to how unsafe we really are,” he said.

“No-one really focuses on the fact you are in danger until something happens within eyeshot or to you directly.

“This happened outside two of probably Ipswich’s busiest shops, and anyone from a child in a buggy to an OAP would have witnessed that happen.

“It’s horrific, and how do you get past that? I know from the struggle I’ve had to deal with after losing my brother, it doesn’t get easier, it gets worse.

“What is it that we can do? Why are people carrying knives to end lives to prove their street presence, their notoriety, whatever it is?

“The ripple effects are absolutely catastrophic and the damage is forever lasting.”

Gavin Stone, chief executive of Ipswich-based youth group 4YP, visited the scene of the stabbing to offer to support to any young people who needed it, including those working in nearby shops.

“There was a sense of shock, a sense of disbelief that this has happened in such a visible public place and that loss of a sense of safety that we might have walking in our High Street,” he said.

“There is little understanding of the consequences of what doing such as physical act can actually mean to the person you are doing it to, to them themselves, the impact on their life and the ripple effect to their friends and families.

“[With this incident] it feels there is a greater opportunity that people can just do these things anywhere.

“Before, they were perhaps in isolated areas and isolated incidents, there is a sense now that this can happen anywhere at any time.”

His charity offers advice, guidance and support to children and young adults in Ipswich and across Suffolk.

“We are seeing children on the streets as young as eight and the carrying of knives among the older people becomes normalised,” he added.

“It’s vital we work with people younger, educate them younger and teach them about consequences and repercussions at a much younger age.

“We need to keep working, to keep driving on, to make sure these things don’t happen again.”

The Reverend Tom Mumford, the vicar of Ipswich’s town and civic church, St Mary le Tower, described the attack as an “absolute travesty”.

He said his prayers, and those of Ipswich’s town and civic church, were with Mr Quigley and his family.

“We pray also for justice,” he said.

“Ipswich is a brilliant town full of amazing people. Such an attack should not affect the pride we have in our town.

“Our call must be for justice and for love of neighbour. That is who we truly are.”

He said St Mary le Tower was open every day for prayer and to find peace and quiet.

People were also welcome to light candles in memory of Mr Quigley, he said.

He said on Tuesday, marking the week’s anniversary of the incident, the church would be holding a minute’s silence to remember Mr Quigley and to “pray for peace and justice”.

Ipswich Borough Council said its team was supporting the efforts of police by monitoring its “extensive” CCTV provision.

“We understand that this will be a difficult time for our communities, and we want to reassure people that our Safer Streets initiatives and CCTV operations are in place to help the police tackle crime and make our communities feel safer,” said Alasdair Ross, the portfolio holder for community safety.

“This is a devastating incident, which leaves us all feeling shocked, but by working with local businesses, community partners and the emergency services we can act quickly and work collaboratively to develop new initiatives to keep our town safe.

“I’m appalled by this violent crime, which happened in a busy place in daylight.

“Ipswich Borough Council remains committed to delivering our Safer Streets operations, which are designed to tackle crime, educate young adults, and make our streets safer for everyone.

“Our initiatives have made improvements to Ipswich, but it’s clear that we still have work to do alongside our partners.

“I would like to thank our Street Rangers and business owners for their actions, and to remind everyone that we all need to play our part in making our streets safer, so if you have any information, please contact police.”

Additional reporting by Kate Scotter and Laurence Cawley.

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