Emergency services are working at the scene in Southport, England, where a man was detained and a knife was seized after a stabbing incident was reported on Monday that left several people injured.
James Spackman/PA
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James Spackman/PA
LONDON — A teenager attacked two children with a knife in northwest England on Monday, killing two and injuring 11 others as the blood-covered children screamed from dancing and dancing, police and witnesses said. Running out of a yoga class was “like something out of a horror movie.”
A 17-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder following a stabbing in the seaside town of Southport near Liverpool, Merseyside Police said. The motive was unclear, but police said detectives did not consider the attack to be terrorism-related.
A recent rise in knife crime, which left nine children injured, six seriously, has sparked concerns and calls for the government to do more to combat edged weapons.
Two injured adults who tried to protect the students are now in critical condition, police said.
Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said: “We believe the injured adults acted bravely in their attempts to protect the children who were attacked.”
Taylor Swift-themed workshops are held during the first week of the school holidays and are aimed at children aged 6 to 11 years. and a dance instructor.
A scene of crime officer (SOCO) in Southport, Merseyside, was at the scene where a stabbing incident was reported on Monday in which a number of people were injured, a man was detained and a knife was seized.
James Spackman/PA
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Witnesses said they heard blood-curdling screams and saw children covered in blood emerging from the business, which hosts pregnancy seminars, meditation classes and women’s camps, among other events.
“They were on the road, running from the daycare,” said Bare Varathan, who owns a nearby store. “They were stabbed here, here, here, everywhere,” referring to the neck, back and chest.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the attack “horrible and deeply shocking”. King Charles III offered his “condolences, prayers and deepest sympathy” to those affected by “the most horrific events”.
Shortly before noon, police were called to a street in this city of about 100,000 people, where several small businesses were located behind a row of brick buildings.
Kennedy said the first arriving police officers were surprised to see so many casualties from the “ferocious attack,” most of them children with serious injuries.
Auto body shop owner Colin Parry said most of the stabbing victims appeared to be young girls.
“Mothers are coming here now screaming,” Parry said.
The suspect, who has not yet been identified, lives in a village about 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the site of the attack, police said. He is from Cardiff, Wales.
Ryan Carney, who lives on the street with his mother, said her mother saw first responders holding “red, bloody children.” She said she could see stab wounds on the children’s backs.
“All of these things never really happened here,” he said. “You hear about stabbings and things like that in big cities, Manchester, London. This is sunny Southport. That’s what they call it. The sun is out. It’s a lovely place.
Britain’s worst attack on children occurred in 1996, when 43-year-old Thomas Hamilton shot dead 16 kindergarten students and their teacher in a school gymnasium in Dunblane, Scotland. Britain subsequently banned private ownership of nearly all handguns.
Mass shootings and homicides are rare in the UK, where knives were used in about 40% of homicides as of March 2023.
