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Two children have been killed and nine people injured in a stabbing attack close to a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop in Southport, north of Liverpool.
Six children and two adults remain in a critical condition in hospital with knife wounds.
Armed police detained a 17-year-old boy and seized a knife, with one eyewitness saying the incident was like “a scene from a horror movie”. The suspect is from Banks, a village outside Southport.
Merseyside Police confirmed that the incident is not currently being treated as terror-related, while the motive behind the stabbings remains unclear.
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Merseyside Police chief constable Serena Kennedy told reporters that the adults injured are believed to have been protecting the young victims.
She said: “It is understood that the children were attending a Taylor Swift event at a dance hall when the offender, armed with a knife, walked into the premises and started to attack inside.
“We believe that the adults who were injured were bravely trying to protect the children who were being attacked.”
The teenager, who is originally from Cardiff, has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder and remains in police custody.
A local business owner, who was one of the people who called the police, said he believed six or seven “young girls” had been stabbed.
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Colin Parry, owner of Masters Vehicle Body Repairs on Hart Street, said: “The mothers are coming here now and screaming.
“It is like a scene from a horror movie.” He added: “Police have got him. It’s like something from America, not like sunny Southport.”
Another local resident, Ryan Carney, said that his mother had overheard “screaming and crying”, before seeing paramedics bring out young children “covered in blood”.
“She came out and there was a woman who was screaming, saying she can’t find her child,” he added.
“They let her into the cordon and she ran down and all she could hear was screaming and crying, saying, ‘That’s my child! That’s my child!’”.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, North West Ambulance Service said they received an emergency call at 11.48am to a report of multiple stabbings.
They added: “We have dispatched 13 ambulances along with specialised resources of our Hazardous Area Response Team, air ambulance and merit doctors to the scene.
“So far, NWAS has treated eight patients with stab injuries who have been taken to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, Aintree University Hospital and Southport and Formby hospital.”
In a statement, Alder Hey Children’s Hospital confirmed they were dealing with a major incident, and warned parents to avoid bringing their children to the emergency department unless it was urgent.
Eyewitness Bare Varathan, 35, who owns a corner shop on Hart Street, said he was called by a staff member who told him, “Boss, get to the shop!” He said: “I saw seven to 10 kids outside the nursery. They were injured, bleeding. They were in the road, running from the nursery.
“They had been stabbed, here, here, here, everywhere.” Mr Varathan indicated the neck, back and chest area. “They were all aged about 10. One of them was really seriously injured.”
He added that emergency services descended upon the street, and that the suspect had reportedly arrived in a taxi with a knife.
One local resident recalled seeing a mother hysterically screaming for help as children were being treated on the floor by paramedics. He said: “She was screaming ‘my daughter’s been stabbed’.
“The woman was in hysterics. Then two police cars rushed up the street the other way. It was a mum with her 10-year-old daughter who had been stabbed.”
A large police cordon has been put up around the building, with police officers guarding either end.
Officers and vehicles can be seen from a distance inside the cordon, including scenes-of-crime officers in white boiler suits.
Sir Keir Starmer shared his condolences: “The events today are just truly awful and I know the whole country is deeply shocked at what they have seen and what they have heard.
“I know I speak for everybody in the whole country in saying our thoughts and condolences are with the victims, their families, their friends and with the wider community. It is impossible to imagine what they are going through right now.”
The King said that he and the Queen had been “profoundly shocked”. Charles added: “We send our most heartfelt condolences, prayers and deepest sympathies to the families and loved ones of those who have so tragically lost their lives, and to all those affected by this truly appalling attack.”
A parent, who did not wish to be named, said his daughter was “traumatised” by the attack. He said: “My daughter was in it and she was traumatised. She ran away and she’s safe.”
One woman who lives nearby told the Liverpool Echo that residents had warned each other on Whatsapp groups to lock their windows and doors.
She said: “It was about 20 past 12 I think and we heard loads of sirens and then there was a helicopter circling above.
“Then the messages started to go around the local WhatsApp groups, saying ‘lock your windows, lock your doors’, we were told a man was running around stabbing people.”
“We are all absolutely terrified, panicking and sick with worry – everyone is trying to reach anyone they know in the area. I don’t know how this can happen on a Monday lunchtime.”
Leigh Walton, who owns Yates Motor Engineers, told Sky News he could see the aftermath of the stabbings from his garage.
He said: “The first thing I knew was all the sirens going up and down the street, I could hear something major had happened. Then the police helicopters and multiple air ambulances, you could just tell it was something big, something major.”
Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, said she was “deeply concerned” about the “very serious incident”.
Southport MP Patrick Hurley said: “I am deeply saddened by the news that two children have been fatally injured. I hope for the swift and full recovery of all the other victims of this senseless attack.”
