A councillor says he was surprised to hear of a stabbing at a Princes Risborough housing estate ‘not known for any trouble’ which left locals feeling ‘scared and unsafe’.
A 35-year-old man from High Wycombe was arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm with intent after an altercation in the Laidler Gardens area escalated to a stabbing on Monday night, October 21.
Residents of the estate, many of whom have young children, told the Free Press they felt “scared and unsafe” in the wake of the incident, despite assurances from police that it was being treated as an isolated crime.
Alan Turner, a Conservative councillor sitting on the town and county authorities, also said he had been surprised by what happened – describing the serious police incident as “very unusual” for the town.
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He added: “Risborough is relatively low on crime overall – there’s just a small amount of antisocial behaviour every now and then – but Laidler Gardens isn’t an estate that’s known for any trouble.
“Hopefully this is a one-off. If you go back over many years, there’s the odd instance but it’s generally always been a safe town, especially since more CCTV was put in the town centre.
“I can understand people being scared, but they should be reassured by police saying there’s no wider risk. I suppose there isn’t anywhere in the world where you can 100 per cent say nothing like this will happen.”
A police investigation into the incident is ongoing and anyone with CCTV or dashcam footage of the Laidler Gardens area on Monday night is urged to contact the force by calling 101 and quoting reference 43240508661.
Detective Inspector Dom Muldoon said: “I know that incidents such as this cause great concern in our local communities, but I would like to reassure that we believe this to be an isolated incident and that the victim and offender are known to each other.
“The local community will notice an increased police presence in the area while we progress this investigation and our neighbourhood team will also be conducting further reassurance patrols.
“Please don’t hesitate to talk to any of our officers if you have any concerns you wish to raise.”
Details previously published by Thames Valley Police said the incident took place on October 22, but it has now been confirmed as happening on October 21.
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