8 people stabbed in community center where a Taylor Swift-themed dance class for children was taking place

LONDON (AP) — Police say a 17-year-old is in custody after eight people, including children, were stabbed to death in northwest England. Investigators do not believe the attack was of a terrorist nature.

Police seized a knife during the attack at a community center where a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga event for elementary school children was taking place.

The North West Ambulance Service said it had taken eight injured victims to local hospitals in the attack in Southport, near Liverpool.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS. The previous AP story follows below.

LONDON (AP) — At least eight people, including children, were injured in a knife attack in northwest England on Monday, emergency services said. Police said they arrested a man and seized a knife.

A witness described seeing bloodied children running from a community center where a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga event was taking place for children ages 6 to 11. An advertisement for the event promised “a morning of Taylor Swift-themed yoga, dance and bracelet making.”

Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the attack as “appalling and deeply shocking”.

Merseyside Police said officers were called to an address in Southport, a coastal town of about 100,000 people near Liverpool, around midday. It described it as a “serious incident” but said there was no major danger to the public. It urged people to avoid the area.

The North West Ambulance Service said paramedics treated eight people for stab wounds. The injured were taken to local hospitals, including a children’s hospital.

Bare Varathan, who owns a shop down the street, said he saw between seven and 10 bleeding children running out of Hart Space, a community center that offers classes for expectant mothers, babies and children.

“They had been stabbed here, here, here, everywhere,” he said, pointing to the neck, back and chest. “They were all about ten years old. One of them was really badly injured.”

Ryan Carney, who lives with his mother on the street, said his mother saw emergency workers carrying children “who were red and covered in blood. She said she could see the stab wounds on the children’s backs.”

“None of these things ever happen here,” he said. “You hear about them, stabbings and things like that in big cities, in Manchester, in London. This is sunny Southport. That’s what people call it. The sun is shining. It’s a beautiful place.”