Crawley knifeman kills two and leaves third fighting for life after attack in housing estate 

Police have arrested a man on suspicion of double murder after two women were found dead in a quiet suburban street in a Sussex village, just days before Christmas.

A fleet of ambulances, a helicopter and teams of police rushed to the scene in Crawley Down, West Sussex following reports of a disturbance just before 10.18am.

Parademics found the two dead women outside and a man seriously injured inside the house. The injured man has been taken to Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton. 

Initial reports suggested that a knife had been involved in the murders, but Sussex Police have told MailOnline that they strongly refuted this claim.

Detective Chief Inspector Alex Geldart, of the Sussex and Surrey major crime team, said: ‘In response to media speculation I wish to make it absolutely clear that this is not a knife crime.’ 

The force gave no further details about the arrested man, the cause of death or how the violence unfolded.

Police forensic officers working in the dark at the scene in Crawley this evening. Emergency services rushed to the scene after reports of a disturbance just before 10.18am this morning

The attacker is understood to have set upon the two women, leaving them for dead in the street.

A man was detained by police shortly after they arrived at the incident in the leafy Sussex village.

Police immediately set up a cordon around the house in Hazel Way, Crawley Down, West Sussex and drafted in forensic experts to begin a search for evidence.

White sheets covered both bodies which lay in the road where they fell and police threw up cordons either side of the horrific scene. 

Two women were brutally murdered in the street outside a suburban family home, and were pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics

Forensics officers at a scene in Hazel Way, Crawley Down, West Sussex, as a man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after the deaths of two women

A number of tents have been set up by forensics teams to investigate the incident in Sussex today

A neighbour who saw the police and ambulances arrive said: ‘It seems he has killed two people and severely stabbed a third person. I don’t know whether they are related to him but it is just terrible. 

‘To think that on a Sunday morning you wake up to a normal day and suddenly all this happens. It is even more desperate because it is so close to Christmas,’ he said. 

Another neighbour on Hazel Way, who asked not to be named, said: ‘This is a terrible scene – and so near Christmas. Those poor people, they must have been terrified in the moments before they died.

‘This is normally such a quiet place, nothing nasty ever happens here. We are just a nice ordinary estate with now trouble.

White sheets covered both bodies which lay in the road where they fell and police threw up cordons either side of the horrific scene 

Detective Chief Inspector Alex Geldart, of Sussex and Surrey major crime team said: ‘At this time we believe this to be an isolated incident, with no ongoing risk to members of the public’

‘This is a fast-moving investigation which will see significant police resources deployed to the scene for the forseeable future. We are grateful for the support and patience of the local community while we conduct our enquiries’

‘Everyone is really struggling to come to terms with what has happened. The paramedics were here really quickly and were brilliant but sadly there was nothing they could do for two of the stab victims.’

An ex-police officer neighbour said his friend, who lives opposite the house where the attack occurred, heard shouting inside before people ran out.

He said: ‘There was a domestic dispute or argument that was going on. There was shouting and threats made and the police were called.

‘There were three people involved – there was a bloke and his wife and a do-gooder passer-by.

‘The neighbour that I know heard shouting and swearing and heard ‘I’m going to kill you.’ 

One eyewitness told MailOnline that he watched police officers ferrying young children out of an address by the crime scene, holding up blankets between the children and the bodies on the road – which were themselves draped with sheets – to shield the view from the children.

Three forensic tents have been pitched on the street and in surrounding gardens, while residents said 10 police cars had initially been dispatched to the scene to deal with the incident

DCI Geldart added: ‘My thoughts are very much with the friends and family of the two women who have sadly lost their lives’

Detective Chief Inspector Alex Geldart, of Sussex and Surrey major crime team added: ‘At this time we believe this to be an isolated incident, with no ongoing risk to members of the public.

‘This is a fast-moving investigation which will see significant police resources deployed to the scene for the forseeable future. We are grateful for the support and patience of the local community while we conduct our enquiries.’

DCI Geldart added: ‘My thoughts are very much with the friends and family of the two women who have sadly lost their lives.’

Three forensic tents have been pitched on the street and in surrounding gardens, while residents said 10 police cars had initially been dispatched to the scene to deal with the incident.