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Tommy Fleetwood was left reeling by the “horrific” knife attack in his hometown of Southport on Monday that left three children dead and five other youngsters in a critical condition.
Fleetwood is preparing for his second Olympic appearance for Team GB at Le Golf National this week but events in the place where the golfer was born and raised have sent shockwaves through the UK.
While he now calls Dubai home, the 33-year-old retains close links with Southport, where his father and other relatives still live, as does his putting coach Phil Kenyon, who is with him in France.
It's terrible, it's obviously tragic for the town and everybody but for the people involved, it's just horrific— Tommy Fleetwood
Like many others, Fleetwood was stunned by news of three young girls being fatally stabbed at a Taylor Swift-themed children’s holiday club, with eight other children suffering knife wounds.
He said: “I don’t know what to say. Stuff like this happens way more often than we would all like. You don’t expect it to happen in a little town like Southport
“It’s terrible, it’s obviously tragic for the town and everybody but for the people involved, it’s just horrific.
“First thoughts, of course, are always with the families where they’ve tragically lost someone or they’re going to have to deal with it for the rest of their lives and it’s just not fair.
“When one of you gets hurt, you feel like all of you do. That’s just what home is. Everybody is feeling it, for sure, but nobody as much as the families that are involved and that’s what comes first.
“We all follow our dreams, whatever it is, and that’s obviously a huge part of life but for those kids that won’t have the chance and those families that have got to deal with it, it massively puts things into perspective.”
Fleetwood does not have any connections with the victims or their families of the attack, which has led to a 17-year-old being arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.
Asked about taking an Olympic gold medal back to Southport, Fleetwood added: “I’m pretty sure that would make no difference to anybody but it would be a nice happy thought, something back for the town.
“Gold medal or not, we’ll all just work to help the ones affected and all get together in restoring the town and hopefully making it into a better place.”
