Two children die of stab wounds in knife attack at dance and yoga workshop in UK, nine others injured

LONDON: Two of 11 people injured in a knife attack died in hospital after they were stabbed by a teenager who rampaged through a Taylor Swift children’s dance and yoga workshop in the British seaside town of Southport on Monday. Among the injured are two adults and nine children, six of whom are said to be in critical condition.

Armed officers, 13 ambulances and a rescue helicopter were dispatched to the scene, where armed police arrested the 17-year-old male suspect, originally from Cardiff, and seized a knife. He was taken to a police station and questioned. Police said they do not consider the attack to be “terrorist” and are not looking for anyone else.

According to Merseyside Police, emergency services were called just before 11:50am local time following reports of a stabbing at a building on Hart Street. “There are multiple reports of casualties.”

The attack occurred during a two-hour yoga, dance and bracelet workshop for children during the summer holidays, which took place from 10am to 12pm at Hart Space. Hart Space has two studios and offers yoga, meditation and childbirth classes. It is believed that around 25 children, aged between three and 12, were present at the sold-out workshop when the attack occurred.

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The North West Ambulance Service said it treated eight people with stab wounds at the scene and transported them to several hospitals, including Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.

Colin Parry, owner of Masters Vehicle Body Repairs in Hart Street, who called police, said he believed six or seven “young girls” had been stabbed. He told the PA news agency: “The mums are coming here now, screaming. It’s like a scene from a horror film. It’s like something from America, not sunny Southport.”

Eyewitnesses reported that children ran out of the studio into the street covered in blood, while residents in WhatsApp groups warned each other to lock their windows and doors after hearing about a man “running around stabbing people.”

Bare Varathan (35), owner of a corner shop on Hart Street, said: “I saw seven to 10 children in front of the kindergarten. They were injured and bleeding. They were lying on the street. They had been stabbed, here, here, here, everywhere.”