The Tribune

A FIVE-YEAR-OLD boy was found stabbed to death last night – and police are questioning a 20-year-old relative over the crime.

Police were called to Strachan’s Alley, off Kemp Road, shortly after 6 o’clock last night, where they found the body of the five-year-old boy, wrapped in a sheet.

He had suffered a stab wound to the chest and officers said his throat had also been cut.

At the scene, the community was in shock, with people gathering round the scene as word spread of the killing.

A police source described the community as “devastated”, saying this was a very close community and the killing had hit hard. He added that it was a particularly traumatic crime scene.

The source said this was a “shocking” crime and it was hard to comprehend how someone could kill a five-year-old boy.

A 20-year-old man, a close family member of the boy, is being questioned by police in connection with the incident.

The rest of the family was described as “distraught and devastated”.

Police said they would welcome any further information from the public as they sought to establish the reasons for such a crime.

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 323-0850, 323-0845, 323-0853, 323-0854, 302-8177 or 302-8178; the Central Detective Unit on 502-9991 or 502-9910; or Crime Stoppers anonymously on 328-TIPS.