LONDON (AP) 鈥� A 9-year old girl wounded in a stabbing attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga class in northwestern England died Tuesday, bringing the death toll to three, as police questioned a 17-year-old suspect arrested minutes after the rampage.
Merseyside Police said the other fatalities were girls aged 6 and 7.
Eight children and two adults remain hospitalized after the attack in Southport. Both adults and five of the children are in critical condition.
Swift said she was 鈥渃ompletely in shock鈥� and still taking in 鈥渢he horror鈥� of the event.
鈥淭hese were just little kids at a dance class,鈥� she wrote on Instagram. 鈥淚 am at a complete loss for how to ever convey my sympathies to these families.鈥�
A 17-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.
Local people left flowers and stuffed animals in tribute at a police cordon on the street lined with brick houses in the seaside resort near Liverpool 鈥� nicknamed 鈥渟unny Southport鈥� 鈥� whose beach and pier attract vacationers from across northwest England.
Witnesses described scenes 鈥渇rom a horror movie鈥� as bloodied children ran from the attack just before noon on Monday. The suspect was arrested soon after on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. Police said he was born in Cardiff, Wales, and had lived for years in a village about 3 miles (5 kilometers) from Southport. He has not yet been charged.
Police said detectives are not treating Monday鈥檚 attack as terror-related and they are not looking for any other suspects.
鈥淲e believe the adults who were injured were bravely trying to protect the children who were being attacked,鈥� Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said.
It is the latest shocking attack in a country where has stoked anxieties and led to calls for the government to do more to clamp down on bladed weapons.
Witnesses described hearing screams and seeing children covered in blood emerging from the Hart Space, a community center that hosts everything from pregnancy workshops and meditation sessions to women鈥檚 boot camps.
The attack happened during a Taylor Swift-themed yoga and dance workshop for children aged about 6 to 11.
鈥淭hey were in the road, running from the nursery,鈥� said Bare Varathan, who owns a shop nearby. 鈥淭hey had been stabbed, here, here, here, everywhere,鈥� he said, indicating the neck, back and chest.
called the attack 鈥渉orrendous and deeply shocking.鈥� King Charles III sent his 鈥渃ondolences, prayers and deepest sympathies鈥� to those affected by the 鈥渦tterly horrific incident.鈥�
Prince William and his wife Catherine said that 鈥渁s parents, we cannot begin to imagine what the families, friends and loved ones of those killed and injured in Southport today are going through.鈥�
Colin Parry, who owns a nearby auto body shop, told The Guardian that the suspect arrived by taxi.
鈥淗e came down our driveway in a taxi and didn鈥檛 pay for the taxi, so I confronted him at that point,鈥� Parry was quoted as saying. 鈥淗e was quite aggressive, he said, 鈥榃hat are you gonna do about it?鈥欌��
Parry said most of the victims appeared to be young girls.
鈥淭he mothers are coming here now and screaming,鈥� Parry said. 鈥淚t is like a scene from a horror movie. 鈥� It鈥檚 like something from America, not like sunny Southport.鈥�
Britain鈥檚 worst attack on children occurred in 1996, when 43-year-old Thomas Hamilton shot 16 kindergarteners and their teacher dead in a school gymnasium in Dunblane, Scotland. The U.K. subsequently banned the private ownership of almost all handguns.
Mass shootings and killings with firearms are rare in Britain, where knives were used in about 40% of homicides in the year to March 2023.
Jill Lawless, The Associated Press
