2024-07-30 13:09:10
Six of the nine injured children are in “critical condition” and two adults are also in critical condition, police said.
The attacker has been arrested and is a 17-year-old youth from Banks, Lancashire, England, police confirmed.
Merseyside Police said no one else was wanted in connection with the attack and it was not linked to terrorism.
Prime Minister Keir Sturmer called the attack “horrific and deeply shocking”.
According to Merseyside Police, law enforcement officers were called to an address in Southport around noon.
A “serious incident” has taken place, the police confirmed, at the same time stating that there was no wider threat to the public.
The BBC and other media reported that the attack took place at a community center where a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga event for primary school children was taking place near the site of the incident.
Seven to ten bleeding children ran out of the building, a nearby store owner told the media.
“They were stabbed here, here, here, everywhere,” he said, pointing to the neck, back and chest. “They were all about ten years old. One of them was really badly injured.”
On the other hand, the owner of a nearby car repair shop admitted that the attack was “something that happens in America, not in sunny Southport”.q
2024-07-30 13:09:10