Two children are dead, and nine others were critically injured after a horrific mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop in Lancashire in Northwest England.
Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy told reporters that police were called to the crime scene at 11:47 local time. Officers were "shocked" at the carnage they found in the wake of what Kennedy called a "ferocious attack."
Two children are dead and several others are wounded after a "ferocious" mass stabbing attack during a Taylor Swift-themed event at a dance school in northwest England, police said. A 17-year-old has been arrested in connection with attack. https://t.co/e3lMqzVVXR pic.twitter.com/hH0VVRFDjg
— CBS News (@CBSNews) July 29, 2024
"It is with great sadness that today I am here to advise that two young children have died as a result of injuries sustained in a knife attack this morning," Kennedy said.
"Nine other children have been injured, and six of them are in a critical condition, all those injured have suffered stab wounds sustained during the attack. Two adults are also in a critical condition after being injured during the incident."
"A 17-year-old male from Banks in Lancashire, who is originally from Cardiff, has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder and has been taken to a police station where he will be interviewed by detectives." Police have not released the name of the suspect.
"It is understood that the children were attending a Taylor Swift event at a dance school when the offender armed with a knife walked into the premises and started to attack the children," she added. "We believe that the adults who were injured were bravely trying to protect the children who were being attacked."
"As a mum of two daughters and the nana of a five-year-old granddaughter, I cannot begin to imagine the pain and suffering the families of the victims are currently going through, and I want to send them our heartfelt condolences and sympathies," she added.
🚨Two children dead and nine injured in Southport stabbing attack at a Taylor Swift Dance Party.
— iCkEdMeL ☀🔎🔥 (@iCkEdMeL) July 29, 2024
"Nightmare" "Parents screaming"
Witness describes seeing multiple kids that were attacked. Says one he saw coming out, was stabbed in the chest and back.
Will the identiy of the… pic.twitter.com/9lReRaj0nw
Kennedy said that the "motivation for the incident remains unclear." Nevertheless, it is not being treated as a terrorist attack. Police are urging people not to "speculate while the investigation is ongoing." (Translation: don't say the M-word.)
There have been 12 mass stabbings recorded in the UK since June 2020, when a 25-year-old Libyan refugee armed with a kitchen knife killed three people and injured three others in a killing spree at Forbury Gardens.
Today's attack happened at the Hope of Hart Children's Club, where a Taylor Swift-themed yoga and dance workshop was being held for primary school children.
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