Armed police in Southport in North West England arrested a teenage boy with a knife Monday under suspicion of murder after two children were killed and others critically wounded in a mass stabbing at a seaside town on the first day of summer vacation, police said.
Chief Constable Serena Kennedy of the Merseyside Police said at a news conference that two children died of stab wounds. Another nine children were wounded, and six of those children remain in critical condition at local hospitals.
Two adults were also stabbed and are in critical condition. Kennedy said the adults appear to be have been injured while trying to protect the children.
The Merseyside Police said they arrested a 17-year-old boy from the nearby village of Banks on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. They also recovered a knife, police said. They said the arrested youth was originally from Cardiff.
“We can also confirm that the incident is not currently being treated as terror-related, and we are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident,” the police said.
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The attack was at a small community center where primary-school-aged children were attending a Taylor Swift-themed yoga and dance class. The building is down an alleyway on Hart Street, a mostly residential road of two-story brick buildings with some scattered shops.
The attack took place a few minutes before noon on the first day of the school holiday.
The North West Ambulance Service said it responded to “reports of multiple stabbings” with 13 ambulances and a helicopter. The emergency service treated 11 people at the scene. The wounded were taken to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, Aintree University Hospital and Southport and Formby Hospital.”
The police described the attack as “ferocious.”
Tim Johnson, a journalist at Eye on Southport, told the BBC he saw a bloodied girl on a stretcher.
“Her parents were running after her. It was horrendous. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Johnson told the broadcaster.
BBC Radio interviewed a man who he said saw young girls “bleeding.” A Press Association reporter interviewed a man who said some of the victims appeared to be around 10 years old.
Other witnesses told reporters that parents were running up and down the street, wailing and screaming. Local WhatsApp groups received frenzied messages telling people to go inside and lock doors.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the stabbings as “horrendous and deeply shocking news.”
A motive for the stabbings was not immediately clear. The arrested youth will be interviewed by detectives, the police said, and officers were seen at the house where he is believed to have lived.
Southport is a seaside town known for its beaches and Victorian architecture, about an hour’s drive north of Liverpool. It has a population of about 95,000.
Chief Constable Serena Kennedy of the Merseyside Police said at a news conference that two children died of stab wounds. Another nine children were wounded, and six of those children remain in critical condition at local hospitals.
Two adults were also stabbed and are in critical condition. Kennedy said the adults appear to be have been injured while trying to protect the children.
The Merseyside Police said they arrested a 17-year-old boy from the nearby village of Banks on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. They also recovered a knife, police said. They said the arrested youth was originally from Cardiff.
“We can also confirm that the incident is not currently being treated as terror-related, and we are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident,” the police said.
🌎
Follow World news
The attack was at a small community center where primary-school-aged children were attending a Taylor Swift-themed yoga and dance class. The building is down an alleyway on Hart Street, a mostly residential road of two-story brick buildings with some scattered shops.
The attack took place a few minutes before noon on the first day of the school holiday.
The North West Ambulance Service said it responded to “reports of multiple stabbings” with 13 ambulances and a helicopter. The emergency service treated 11 people at the scene. The wounded were taken to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, Aintree University Hospital and Southport and Formby Hospital.”
The police described the attack as “ferocious.”
Tim Johnson, a journalist at Eye on Southport, told the BBC he saw a bloodied girl on a stretcher.
“Her parents were running after her. It was horrendous. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Johnson told the broadcaster.
BBC Radio interviewed a man who he said saw young girls “bleeding.” A Press Association reporter interviewed a man who said some of the victims appeared to be around 10 years old.
Other witnesses told reporters that parents were running up and down the street, wailing and screaming. Local WhatsApp groups received frenzied messages telling people to go inside and lock doors.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the stabbings as “horrendous and deeply shocking news.”
A motive for the stabbings was not immediately clear. The arrested youth will be interviewed by detectives, the police said, and officers were seen at the house where he is believed to have lived.
Southport is a seaside town known for its beaches and Victorian architecture, about an hour’s drive north of Liverpool. It has a population of about 95,000.
