Family and friends shocked and devastated after "overwhelming" tragedy near Larne

Q Radio News

A young mother and a baby boy have been fighting for their lives after Monday's stabbing incident near Larne.

A toddler, also a boy, died in the tragedy at an isolated farmhouse on Bankhall Road in the Magheramorne area.

The woman in her 30s is the mother of the children. She is a nurse and a mother of four.

Police say they're not looking for anyone else in connection with what is being treating as a domestic incident.

Two older children are thought to have been at school at the time.

The woman’s partner was at work.

We've been speaking with a distraught family friend...

A Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) statement on Monday said: "Police can confirm that an investigation has commenced into the circumstances surrounding the death of a young child in the Larne area today.

"A woman in her 30s and a baby are currently receiving hospital treatment for injuries.

"The investigation is at an early stage and police are currently not looking for anyone else in connection with the death."

Forensic officers at work at a farm house on Bankhall Road, Magheramourne which has been cordoned off by police.
It’s understood a child has died in a “domestic incident”. pic.twitter.com/B0acE56Lc4

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A major police and emergency services operation centred on the property at Bankhall Road throughout Monday.

Neighbours heard a helicopter and saw police and ambulances on Monday morning.

A laneway to the property had been sealed off by officers with forensics experts gathering evidence.

Neighbour Rhonda Kernohan said: "I heard the sirens and the helicopter, the air ambulance, came and it landed up at the back of the farm.

"We thought it was a farm accident but when we looked out there was a lot of shouting and a lot of police, a lot of ambulances about."

She added: "This is a quiet, rural, peaceful area."

Another neighbour said the woman who lived at the house was a "youngish girl".

They added: "It was very sad. We are feeling absolutely awful, so sad it is terrible.

"The shock of it, when it happens nearly on your doorstep."

The scene is at a house and outbuildings along a narrow lane high on a hillside overlooking Larne Lough, south of the port town of Larne.

White boilersuit-clad forensics experts combed the area for clues.