ChauffeurWest/X (via PA Wire)
Emergency services and police arrive at the scene of a stabbing incident in Southport, England, on Monday.
London
CNN
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Two children were killed and nine injured in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance studio in a northern English town on Monday, and a teenage suspect has been arrested in an attack that one witness described as “something from a horror movie.”
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 said police understood the attacker entered the property with a knife and began attacking 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.
Merseyside Police said they were called to a report of a stabbing in Southport, north Liverpool. Emergency services were called to a “serious incident” in the town at around 11:50am local time (6:50am Eastern Time). A 17-year-old boy was arrested at the scene “on suspicion of murder and attempted murder”.
“The investigation is at an early stage and the motive for the incident is unclear, however North West Counter Terrorism Police have offered to assist,” Mr Kennedy said.
Police had earlier said the incident was not being treated as terrorism-related.
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Local business owner Colin Parry, one of those who called police, said the incident in Southport was “like a scene from a horror movie”, according to PA Media.
Mr Parry said he believed several young girls had been stabbed. “Mums are coming in here now screaming, it’s like a scene from a horror movie,” he said, adding: “The police have got him.”
The businessman said he directed police to an address on Hart Street behind Hart Space Studios. One of the events listed at the time of the stabbing was:
According to its website, it offers Taylor Swift-themed yoga and dance classes for kids ages 6 to 11.
“It’s not like sunny Southport, it’s got a very American feel to it,” Parry says.
An anonymous resident, who lives in Hart Street, told PA Media a woman had pulled up in her car in front of his house and was screaming. “She was screaming, ‘my daughter has been stabbed’,” he said.
“The woman was hysterical and then two police cars came rushing down the street from the opposite direction. It was a mother and her 10-year-old daughter who had been stabbed.”
“I walked her to where the police cars and ambulance were. She wasn’t in a good condition but I was focused on getting her to the street to call for help.
“When I returned to the street I found several children on the floor being treated by paramedics. When I returned more police cars passed by and ambulances slowly started to arrive.”
Alder Hey Children’s Hospital Trust in Liverpool, about 20 miles from Southport, declared a “major incident”.
“The trust is working with other emergency services to respond to this incident and the emergency department is currently extremely busy,” the hospital said in a statement on its website. “We ask parents to only bring their children to the emergency department if it is an emergency,” the hospital said.
The king and his people are shocked
King Charles III and his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, said they were “deeply shocked” by the 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.
The couple also sent their “deepest condolences” to “the families and loved ones of those tragically lost their lives” and to all those affected by this incident.
The Prince and Princess of Wales also statement He thanked first responders and said his “love, thoughts and prayers go out to all those involved in this horrific and heinous attack.”
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.
“I know I speak on behalf of the whole country in offering my thoughts and condolences to the victims, their families and friends and the wider community, and it is almost impossible to imagine the grief they are going through, the trauma they are going through,” Starmer said, also paying tribute to emergency services for their response to what he described as a “terrible incident”.
British MP Patrick Hurley, who represents Southport, said he was “deeply concerned” about the “incident”.
“We hope for the best outcome for those affected and our hearts go out to those affected, their families and the entire community,” Hurley said on X.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
Correction: This story has been updated to correct the name of the town where the incident occurred.
