Two children have died and several others were injured in a mass stabbing at a children’s centre hosting a Taylor Swift-themed dance party in Merseyside, England on Monday.
A major incident was declared at a city children’s hospital in the UK after a knifeman launched an attack at a children’s summer holidays party. Police were called to a children’s centre on Hart Street, Southport at 11:47 on Monday morning (0650) and Merseyside Police have charged a 17-year-old male suspect “originally from Cardiff” with murder and attempted murder.
While it was originally thought that one child had been killed in the mass-stabbing attack, Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy revealed on Monday evening that two children have now died of stab wounds. Further, nine other children, six of whom remain in a critical condition, were injured.
Chief Constable Kennedy praised two adults who were wounded in the attack, who she said sustained their injuries “bravely trying to protect the children”.
She told a press conference this evening that officers arriving at the scene this morning were “were shocked to find that multiple people, many of whom were children, had been subjected to a ferocious attack and had suffered serious injuries.”
The top officer continued: “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. We believe that the adults who were injured were bravely trying to protect the children who were being attacked.
“… the investigation is in its early stages and the motivation for the incident remains unclear, however counter-terrorism police North West have offered their support to Merseyside Police as the full circumstances of what had happened are being established. At this moment in time the investigation is not being treated as terrorist-related.”
The officer’s statement confirms what had been earlier reported by local newspaper the Liverpool Echo reports the attack took place at a dance summer camp being hosted at a children & mother’s support centre. The event was a Taylor Swift-themed dance party for children between the ages of three and 12 years old, they stated.
The Ambulance Service declared a major incident, and Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool also declared a major incident as they received casualties.
