Taylor Swift is ‘in shock’ after gruesome stabbing in UK as police say her third child has died

LONDON – A third teenage girl has died after a stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed children’s event in the United Kingdom, police said Tuesday, while the pop star reacted on social media, saying she was “in shock.”

According to Merseyside Police, officers responded to reports of a stabbing at a property in Southport, a coastal town about 20 miles north of Liverpool, just before midday on Monday.

Two girls, six-year-old Bebe King and seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, were killed and nine other children were injured, police said.

A third girl, nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar, died in hospital Tuesday morning, police said.

Alice was one of six injured children who were in critical condition, along with two adults who were also stabbed, police said.

The condition of the other five children and two adults was still critical on Tuesday, police said.

“We believe the injured adults were bravely trying to protect the children who were attacked,” Merseyside Police Commissioner Serena Kennedy said on Monday.

The motive is still unclear, Kennedy said.

Merseyside Police said the children had attended a Taylor Swift event at a dance school. A flyer for the two-hour event said “Taylor Swift Yoga and Dance Workshop.” The event was intended for children aged between 6 and 11, according to a post on Instagram by the event organizer.

The “horror” of the attack “washed over me non-stop,” Swift said in an Instagram post. She said she was “completely shocked.”

“The loss of life and innocence and the terrible trauma inflicted on everyone present, the families and the first responders,” she said. These were just little kids in a dance class. I don’t even know how to express my condolences to these families.”

A 17-year-old boy from Banks, a coastal village in Lancashire just outside Southport, has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, police said. The suspect, whose name has not been released, was born in Cardiff, Wales, police said.

The “full circumstances” are still being investigated, Kennedy said, adding that the attack is not considered a terrorist attack. Police are not looking for any other suspects, she said.