LAST UPDATE | 30 Jul
THREE GIRLS WHO were killed in a deadly knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club have been named by police, as families paid tribute to their “little girl” and “princess”.
Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were all fatally stabbed in the incident in Southport, Merseyside, yesterday.
A 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, remains in custody accused of murder and attempted murder following the incident at the dance studio in Hart Street.
In a tribute issued through Merseyside Police, Bebe King’s family said: “No words can describe the devastation that has hit our family as we try to deal with the loss of our little girl Bebe.”
The family of Alice Aguiar said: “Keep smiling and dancing like you love to do our Princess, like we said before to you, you’re always our princess and no one would change that. Love from Your Hero Daddy and Mummy.”
Merseyside Police said all three families are being supported by specialist officers.
We can confirm the names of the three girls who were tragically killed in Southport on Monday (29 July).
— Merseyside Police (@MerseyPolice) July 30, 2024
They are Bebe King, six; Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven; and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine ❤️
Please visit here for more: https://t.co/CZ3hIM7ycn pic.twitter.com/Xz8ea1LglU
The fully-booked club for children, which was advertised as a dance and yoga workshop as well as bracelet-making, quickly became something “like a horror movie”, witnesses to the stabbings have said.
Taylor Swift said she is “completely in shock” after the “horror” of the knife attack.
Eight other children suffered stab wounds and five are in a critical condition, alongside two adults who were also critically injured, police said.
Police continue to question the 17-year-old boy over the deadly knife attack in Southport, near Liverpool.
The boy, born in Cardiff, is being held on suspicion of murder and attempted murder following the attack in Hart Street, Southport.
Police have said they are not treating the incident as terror-related but added the motive “remains unclear”.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has visited Southport and thanked emergency service workers who responded to the knife attack, telling them: “I hope you feel proud of the part that you played in the most difficult circumstances, to do what you could for those young lives.”
Starmer placed his own floral tribute among hundreds of others at the police cordon on Hart Street, Southport.
The brief visit, lasting barely two minutes, was marred by hostile shouts from some watching members of the public.
He laid down his wreath and stood momentarily in silence, but more than one person shouted: “How many more Starmer? When are you going to do something?”
As Starmer walked close by, a man said: “Here’s your photo opportunity.”
And as his car left, another shouted: “How many more children? Our kids are dead and you’re leaving already?”
A third man shouted “get the truth out!” while the local chief constable was asked why the alleged attacker had not been named, and if he was on a “watch list”.
Speaking to the media, Starmer said the attack in Southport “touches a nerve” with the whole country.
“It’s awful to contemplate what happened. To hear for myself the experiences of the first responders, what they had to deal with, it’s really hard to take in for anybody,” he said.
“It’s not what any of them came to work for but, of course, they’re professionals and they deal with it.”
Asked about his “mission” to crack down on knife crime, he said: “I am very worried about high levels of knife crime and I’m absolutely determined that my Government will get to grips with it.
“But today is not the time for politics. Today is the time to focus entirely on the families who are going through such pain and grief, and on the wider community, and, of course, a time to say thank you to those that responded yesterday, in the most awful of circumstances.”
Starmer’s office has since issued a statement urging people not to speculate about attacker’s motive and to allow the police to investigate, adding that there had been “some misreporting” that officers have had to correct.
A vigil will be held in Southport this evening at 6pm.
Local councillor Marion Atkinson, leader of Sefton Council, said: “It is entirely understandable and appropriate that local people want to gather and show their support and solidarity.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected at this incredibly sad time.”
UK monarch King Charles said yesterday evening that he and the UK’s Queen Camilla had been “profoundly shocked” to hear of the “utterly horrific incident in Southport today”.
Charles said: “We send our most heartfelt condolences, prayers and deepest sympathies to the families and loved ones of those who have so tragically lost their lives, and to all those affected by this truly appalling attack.”
William and Kate, the UK’s Prince and Princess of Wales, said: “As parents, we cannot begin to imagine what the families, friends and loved ones of those killed and injured in Southport today are going through.
“We send our love, thoughts and prayers to all those involved in this horrid and heinous attack.”
The suspect is from Banks, a village outside Southport, and a road in the area was cordoned off by police yesterday afternoon.
Merseyside Police had declared a major incident at the scene in Southport, after receiving emergency calls at 11.50am yesterday, with armed response vehicles, 13 ambulances and the fire service descending on the scene, a school holiday club for children aged six to 11.
The children were attending a Taylor Swift event at the dance school when the attacker walked into the premises with a knife and began stabbing.
One local said one of the two adults injured in the attack locked herself in a room with children to protect them as eyewitnesses reported hearing screaming and seeing children “covered” in blood, suffering stab wounds.
Colin Parry, the owner of the Masters Vehicle Body Repairs 50 metres or so from the scene of the attack, told The Guardian he had a heated exchange with a young man he believed to be the attacker moments before the attack.
He said: “He came down our driveway in a taxi and didn’t pay for the taxi, so I confronted him at that point. He was quite aggressive he said: ‘What are you gonna do about it?’.”
Parry said the man he now believes was the attacker then turned and walked out of the driveway of his business.
Moments later, Parry said he received a phone call from a colleague who had run to the dance studio after he heard “screaming that wasn’t normal”, he added.
Parry said a member of staff saw “about 10 kids go running past him, all bleeding, and one of them collapsed on the floor outside the neighbour next door”.
“I went out and there’s two or three kids just lying on the floor. I mean, it’s a frenzied attack,” he said.
“It’s not one stab. He’s gone crazy, the lad’s gone crazy.”
The class was “fully booked” and “was attended by 25 youngsters and included a dance and yoga workshop plus bracelet making.
Social media posts advertising the event, which said the class was “open to children in Year 2 – Year 6”, have been inundated with comments in tribute to those who died and were injured.
One comment under the “Swiftie” event read: “Shocking, overwhelmed with grief. Deepest condolences to all effected by this senseless cruel act of violence against the innocent children and family’s. Prayers of strength to endure.”
Another said: “Can’t stop thinking about the tragic event that has happened today. Sending love to all affected .”
A third directed a comment at the teachers of the class, adding: “If you managed to get just one of those children out unharmed then you are a hero! Praying for your recovery and praying for all the children and families affected by this awful nightmare.”
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