James Speakman/PA Wire
Police officers near the scene in Hart Street, Southport, where the attack took place.
CNN
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Taylor Swift said she was “totally shocked.” Stabbing attack An explosion has killed two children and injured others at a dance class celebrating the music of an American singer in Southport, England.
“The horror of yesterday’s attack in Southport continues to haunt me and I am in complete shock,” the singer wrote on Instagram.
“The loss of life and innocent people and the terrible trauma inflicted on everyone.
“These were families and emergency personnel,” she added. “These were little kids who were in dance class.”
The riots have shocked Britain, where gun ownership is severely restricted but knife crime is “National crisis.”
A 17-year-old boy was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.
“I have no idea how to convey my condolences to these families,” Swift wrote in an Instagram post.
Detective Chief Commissioner Serena Kennedy, of Merseyside Police, said six of the injured children were in a serious condition and two adults were also left in a serious condition in the attack.
Mr Kennedy added that police understand the assailant entered the property with a knife and began attacking the children.
“We believe the adults who were injured were heroically trying to protect children who were under attack,” she said at a press conference Monday night.
King Charles III and his wife, Camilla, Queen of Scots, also said they were “deeply shocked” by Monday’s incident.
“My wife and I are deeply shocked to hear of the extremely horrific incident in Southport,” King Charles said in a statement shared on the royal family’s official social media channels on Monday.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also responded to the incident, saying in a video shared with the station that “the whole country” was “deeply shocked by what we have witnessed” in Southport.