LAST UPDATE | 29 Jul

TWO CHILDREN HAVE died and six are in a critical condition following a “horror movie” knife attack close to a Taylor Swift-themed yoga class.

Merseyside Police said a 17-year-old boy, from the village of Banks, was arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder following the “major incident” at a property in Hart Street, Southport, north of Liverpool, at about 11.50am on Monday.

The suspect was originally from Cardiff, police said.

Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said as well as the two children who died, nine children were injured in the “ferocious” attack and two adults are also in a critical condition.

“We believe the adults who were injured were bravely trying to protect the children who were being attacked,” she said.

Kennedy said the force believe the adults were injured while “bravely” trying to protect the children.

She told reporters: “My officers were called to reports of a stabbing at 11.47 this morning at an address in Southport.

“When they arrived, they were shocked to find that multiple people, many of whom were children, had been subjected to a ferocious attack and had suffered serious injuries.

“It is understood 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 inside.

“We believe the adults who were injured were bravely trying to protect the children who were being attacked.”

Merseyside Police confirmed that the incident is not currently being treated as terror-related.

Emergency services were called to the “major incident” at a property on Hart Street, Southport at about 11.50am.

North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) said it had treated eight patients with stab injuries, who have been taken to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, Aintree University Hospital and Southport and Formby hospital.

Merseyside Police said: “There are a number of reported casualties and more details will be confirmed when possible.

“Armed police have detained a male and seized a knife. He has been taken to a police station.

“Please avoid the area while we deal with this incident. There is no wider threat to the public.”

In a statement from earlier today, Alder Hey Children’s Hospital said that it could confirm that “the trust has declared a major incident”.

“The trust is working with other emergency services to respond to this incident and our emergency department is currently very busy,” it said, adding that parents should only bring their children to the emergency department if it is “urgent”.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that the stabbings are “horrendous and deeply shocking” as he thanked emergency services for their response.

“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,” he said.

“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.”

NWAS said it had dispatched 13 ambulances along with specialised resources of its Hazardous Area Response Team (Hart), an air ambulance and doctors.

It said: “We’re assessing the situation and working with emergency partners.”

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Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said that she is “deeply concerned at the very serious incident in Southport”. 

A local business owner, who was one of the people who called the police, said the incident was like a “scene in a horror movie.”

Colin Parry, owner of Masters Vehicle Body Repairs on Hart Street, said he believed six or seven “young girls” had been stabbed.

He told the PA news agency: “The mothers are coming here now and screaming.

“It is like a scene from a horror movie.”

“Police have got him,” he added.

“It’s like something from America, not like sunny Southport.”

Southport is a seaside town in Sefton, Merseyside, a county that includes Liverpool, Sefton, Knowsley, St Helens and Wirral. 

One resident, who lives on Hart Street but did not want to be named, said he was at home about midday when a woman pulled up outside in her car, screaming.

He said: “She was screaming ‘my daughter’s been stabbed’.

“The woman was in hysterics. Then two police cars rushed up the street the other way.

“It was a mum with her 10-year-old daughter who had been stabbed.

“I helped to get her back up to where the police cars and ambulances were.

“She didn’t look great but my focus was on getting her back up the street to get help.

“When I got back up the street there were a couple of kids on the floor being seen to by paramedics and, as I came back, more police cars were going down and more ambulances gradually started to arrive.”