LONDON — Police detectives on Tuesday were questioning the 17-year-old male arrested on suspicion of murder to try and establish the motive behind a “ferocious” stabbing attack at a children’s dance workshop in Southport, north-west England, that claimed the lives of two young kids.
Merseyside Police said nine other children sustained serious injuries and two adults who were trying to protect the children were also among those hospitalised after the attack on a community centre on Hart Street.
The children, believed to be aged between six and 11 years, were attending a summer holiday workshop themed around singer Taylor Swift’s music.
While the motive behind the fatal stabbings remains "unclear", the police have said the attack is currently not being treated as terror-related and confirmed that the authorities are not seeking any other suspects.
"A 17-year-old male from Banks in Lancashire, who was born in Cardiff (Wales), 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,” said Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy, who described the attack as "ferocious".
"It is understood that the children were attending a Taylor Swift event at a dance school when the offender, who was armed with a knife, walked into the premises and started to attack those inside. We believe that the adults who were injured were trying to protect the children at the time they were attacked,” she said.
"As a mum of two daughters, and the nanna 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.
The royal family, including King Charles, Queen Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales, issued statements expressing their shock and sadness at the “utterly horrific” incident.
“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,” reads the King’s message.
On a personal note, Prince William and Kate Middleton said that as parents they "could not begin to imagine” what the families of the children were going through.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the whole country had been "deeply shocked" by the attack.
"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 the wider community. It's almost impossible to imagine the grief that they're going through and the trauma that they are going through," he said.
Opposition Leader Rishi Sunak also expressed his shock over the “horrendous attack” and thanked the emergency services for their response.
Flowers, notes and cards expressing an outpouring of grief have been piling up at the site of the attack, a community centre used regularly by the locals including for mother and child events.
The local Labour MP, Patrick Hurley, said the community was waking up in "shock and grief" after the brutal stabbings and that a vigil is planned for Tuesday night in support of the victims and their families and friends.
Several witnesses described horrific scenes as a knifeman launched the attack, with bleeding children seen on the street as they ran out of the community centre to flee the attacker.
Horror-struck and screaming parents were seen rushing about, with locals trying to help the injured children. The dance class is believed to have been fully booked with 25 young children in attendance.
A police cordon remains in place around the scene at Hart Street in Southport, a seaside town north of Liverpool – referred to as Merseyside.