Police and forensics on the scene at Hart Street, Southport (Image: SWNS)
Two children have tragically lost their lives and six others are fighting for their lives after a horrific stabbing incident at a Taylor Swift themed dance workshop.
Police are now exploring possible motives but have been able to rule some things out. Also, in an afternoon update, police disclosed that two heroic adults who tried to intervene were left with severe injuries and are both in critical condition. Heartbreaking details from the scene describe a mother screaming “my daughter’s been stabbed.”
A local resident described hearing a woman’s screams and rushing outside to find a young mother and her approximately 10 year old daughter, both covered in blood. Deborah Parker, 57, who lives a few hundred yards from the centre, found the pair in a car near her home.
She recalled: “It had only just happened. I was opening the windows downstairs and a police car sped past. The lady was parked on the corner screaming ‘help me, help me’. Of course I ran over, she was covered in blood, the mum. Her daughter was slumped in the passenger seat.”
READ MORE: Southport stabbing latest updates: Two children dead and nine injured in rampage
Police in Southport, Merseyside (Image: PA)
“She had gone to the children’s club to pick her up and she came out saying ‘mum, I’ve been stabbed’. Her mother had bundled her in the car and just sped away because she did not know what was happening. She stopped here, I was saying ‘how has this happened’ and she didn’t know because her daughter couldn’t speak. All she could say was she had been stabbed.”
Providing an update on their early investigation into a potential motive for the harrowing attacks, police have claimed that they have been confirmed to not be terror-related, saying they have ruled out terrorism as a potential motive. The suspect is a 17-year-old male who police claim was born in Cardiff but most recently resided in Banks, Lancashire. He was arrested shortly after a search was conducted at a property in Banks.
During a press conference this afternoon, it was revealed that the North West Ambulance Service attended to 11 individuals at the scene, with eight of them – six children and two adults – currently in serious condition in hospital. Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy acknowledged the support provided by Counter-Terrorism Police North-West.
A 17 year old male from Banks has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder and remains in custody.
A floral tribute on Hart Street, Southport (Image: Liverpool Echo)
Police estimate that around 25 children were attending an event on Hart Street, Southport, just north of Liverpool at approximately 11.50am today when the horrifying incident took place. The venue, a hypnobirthing centre, also serves as a children’s activity hub during school holidays, offering activities such as dance and crafts.
In a chilling account of the incident, Chief Constable Kennedy said: “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.”
“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 further added: “Our specialist Family Liaison Officers are providing support to the families at this terrible time.”
(left to right) Merseyside Head of Service Dave Kitchin, Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy, MFRS Chief Fire Officer Phil Garrigan and NWAS Cheshire, speaking to the media at Southport Community Fire Centre, Merseyside, after two children died and several others were injured in a knife attack at a property in Hart Street, Southport. (Image: James Speakman/PA Wire)
Alder Hey Children’s Hospital near Liverpool declared a “major incident”. Victims were rushed to Alder Hey, Aintree University Hospital and Southport and Formby hospital.
Eyewitnesses reported hearing “screaming” and seeing bleeding children fleeing from the scene.
A local resident, who lives with his mother in the street, revealed she saw emergency workers carrying children “covered in red, covered in blood. “She said she could see the stab wounds in the backs of the children. All this stuff never really happens around here,” he said. “You hear of it, stabbings and stuff like that in major cities, your Manchesters, your Londons. This is sunny Southport. That’s what people call it. The sun’s out. It’s a lovely place to be.”
A local resident, Joanne Newman, rushed home from work to check on her daughters after hearing about the horrific attack in Southport. She revealed that her elder daughter, who had been escorting her younger sister to a friend’s house, heard a “sinister scream” around the time of the stabbing.
Southport: Police at scene of serious incident
Speaking to BBC News, she said: “She said she heard quite a sinister scream and literally she’d got back from taking my daughter we don’t know roughly what time it was but it was similar timing, and then all the commotion had gone on, so looking back at the timescales that potentially could have been but she said it was a very untoward, unusual scream, so we don’t know.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer expressed his shock at the events, describing them as “truly awful”. He said: “The events today are just truly awful and I know the whole country is deeply shocked at what they have seen and what they have heard.”
“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 with the wider community. It is impossible to imagine what they are going through right now.”
The Prime Minister has extended his thanks to the emergency services for their swift response. Mr Starmer stated: “They have responded to an awful incident today. I want to thank them for the professionalism they have shown in doing so.”
Dave Kitchin, North-West Ambulance Service Cheshire and Merseyside head of service, painted a grim picture of the Southport knife attack at a press conference, describing it as a “devastating scene” that will deeply affect the whole community.
