Two children killed and nine injured at dance workshop

Two children were killed and nine were injured, six of them seriously, after a knife attacker carried out a “brutal attack” on a children’s dance workshop.

Two adults are also in a critical condition after being stabbed while trying to protect children at the Taylor Swift event on Hart Street in Southport, Merseyside Police said.

A 17-year-old boy from Banks in Lancashire has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.

Police said the motive for the attack was “unclear” but it was not being treated as terrorist-related. One witness described the scene as “horrific” and said she had “never seen anything like it.”

Merseyside Police Commissioner Serena Kennedy told a press conference that officers were called to the scene at 11.47am (BST) following reports of a stabbing.

She said when they arrived they were “shocked” to find that several people, including many children, had been subjected to a “brutal attack” and had suffered serious injuries.

“The children were allegedly attending a Taylor Swift event at a dance school when the perpetrator, armed with a knife, entered the premises and began attacking the children,” she said.

“We believe that the injured adults bravely tried to protect the children who were attacked.

“As a mother of two daughters and grandmother of a five-year-old granddaughter, I cannot begin to imagine the pain and suffering that the families of the victims are currently going through and would like to express our deepest condolences and sympathy to them.”

Ms Kennedy said the 17-year-old suspect, who was born in Cardiff, was now being questioned by detectives.

Merseyside Police were not looking for anyone else in connection with the attack and although the “motive for the incident remains unclear”, it is not currently being treated as a terrorist attack.

The incident occurred during the first full week of the summer holidays for many children in the UK.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer expressed his condolences to the victims of the “truly horrific” attack and their families and friends.

“I know the whole country is deeply shocked by what they have seen and heard,” he said.

“I know I speak for everyone across the country when I say that our thoughts and condolences are with the victims, their families, their friends and the wider community. It is almost impossible to imagine the grief and trauma they are going through.

“I would like to thank the emergency services and Merseyside Police who had to respond today in the most difficult of circumstances.”

Journalist Tim Johnson from View of Southportsaid the attack occurred at the Hope of Hart children’s club, which is housed in a former warehouse on a side street.

He said that at the time, a Taylor Swift-themed yoga and dance workshop was taking place for elementary school children aged six to ten.

The organizers were asked for comment but did not respond.

“It was horrific. I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said.

“There were so many police cars there, it was a sea of ​​flashing blue lights. I saw paramedics in tears. People on the streets were crying.”

Alder Hey Children’s Hospital declared it a “major incident” and the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) said it had dispatched “13 ambulances plus specialist crews” to the scene and taken patients with stab wounds to Aintree University and Southport and Formby hospitals.

The Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) confirmed that its Langwathby-based critical care team has been working with NWAS and other emergency services on site.

A GNAAS spokesman added: “We provided advanced emergency care to a patient before escorting him to hospital by road.”

A business owner who called police said the attack was like a “scene from a horror movie.”

Colin Parry, owner of Masters Vehicle Body Repairs on Hart Street, said he believed six or seven “young girls” had been stabbed.

“It’s like something from America, not like sunny Southport,” he said.

Mr Parry told BBC Radio 5 Live that a construction worker helped lead some of the children away from the scene and neighbours helped to get “about 10 girls to safety”.

“The community came together, everyone tried to help. Everyone tried to save the little children,” he added.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper expressed “deep concern” about the “very serious incident”, while Southport MP Patrick Hurley added that he hoped “for the best possible outcome for the victims involved”.

Steve Rotheram, mayor of Liverpool City Region, urged the public not to spread “unconfirmed speculation and false information”.

Emily Spurrell, Merseyside’s police and crime commissioner, said she was “utterly shocked and devastated” to hear of the “truly horrific” incident.

She said: “To hear that innocent, defenceless children were attacked during a Taylor Swift event at a dance school as they enjoyed the start of the summer holidays is unbelievable and absolutely abhorrent.

“These young people had their whole lives ahead of them and it is difficult to find words to express our deep sadness.”

Additional reporting from PA Media.