THE death of Newport teenager Jack Williams was referred to the police watchdog yesterday.

Gwent Police referred the matter to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

Jack Williams, 16, was the son of Malpas Road gunman Darren Williams who shot his wife Rachel in a hair salon last month.

The teenager is believed to have killed himself.

Newport council is also considering conducting a serious case review into his death.

Gwent Police said a referral to the IPCC has been made, as is policy following a death where there has been police contact.

The council said a serious case review into his death, first reported in yesterday’s Argus, was being considered by a multi-agency panel.

Serious case reviews are carried out when a child dies.

They are carried out whether or not the child was on the Child Protection Register.

A spokesman for the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales said it was aware of the case but could not comment further.

Jack was found dead in woods where some of his father’s ashes were scattered, close to his childhood home on Brynglas Drive, at around 7.30pm on Monday, just over five weeks after Williams, 45, was found hanged in woods near Newport on August 19.

The teenager is the third person in two generations of his family to die tragically.

Gwent Police said Jack’s death is not being treated as suspicious.

Williams was found dead just hours after the shooting in Carol Ann’s hairdressers on Malpas Road.

Shortly after 2pm on August 19, Williams walked into the hairdressers armed with a double-barrelled shotgun.

He fired both rounds, hitting his estranged wife Rachel, Jack’s mother, in the leg.

The shot ricocheted into two bystanders, including 92-year-old Connie Evans.

The IPCC is already investigating Gwent Police’s interactions with Darren Williams and his family after the force referred the matter to them.

EDITORIAL COMMENT: Awful tragedy

THE death of Jack Wayne Williams is devastatingly sad for his family.

This is an awful tragedy following what was a shocking incident for all involved when his father Darren shot his estranged wife Rachel before killing himself.

Young Jack was found dead in the woods where his father’s ashes had been scattered.

That a 16-year-old boy has apparently taken his own life is hard to comprehend.

But the fact that Newport council’s social services department is even considering launching a serious case review implies that the authority had some involvement with this teenager before he died.

If that is the case then it is vitally important such an inquiry is held.

Further, the inquiry should be as transparent as possible.

The boy’s family deserves nothing less, but this is now also a matter that is in the public interest.