Two young girls were reportedly killed and at least six other children were seriously injured when a man armed with a knife attacked a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop in the UK on Monday morning, authorities said. The police later arrested the suspect and seized a knife from him.
Armed police officers descended on Hart Street in Merseyside at 11:50 a.m. on Monday morning following a tragic stabbing spree at the children's dance and yoga workshop, which locals described as usually being a "most lovely, relaxing place." The authorities advised people to avoid the area but assured that there was "no wider threat" to the public, According to the Liverpool Echo.
Chilling Attack on Kids
Around 25 children, aged between six and eleven, were participating in the event for school years two to six when the terrifying incident took place at the hypnobirthing center. Witnesses reported seeing a man in a "black hood" arrive in a taxi with a knife before the attack, which caused children to flee the building, leaving people on the street "in tears."
A BBC reporter on the scene described one girl on a stretcher, covered in blood, with "her parents running after her."
"It is like a scene from a horror movie," local merchant Colin Parry told the BBC. "The [parents] are coming here now and screaming. It's like something from America, not like sunny Southport."
The injured girls were quickly transported to three local children's hospitals, where they received treatment following the attack.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer described the multiple stabbings as "horrendous and deeply shocking" and thanked the emergency services for their swift response.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said that she was "deeply concerned" about the attack.
Chaotic Scene
Witness Bare Varathan, 35, who owns a corner shop on Hart Street, said that a staff member called him and said, "Boss, get to the shop!" Varathan said: "I saw seven to ten kids outside the nursery. They were injured, bleeding.
"They were in the road, running from the nursery. They had been stabbed, here, here, here, everywhere. [Mr Varathan indicated the neck, back and chest area]. They were all aged about ten. One of them was really seriously injured.
"I hope they will be OK. Only two police jeeps and ambulances arrived, then armed police came and took him out of the nursery. Somebody told me he had arrived in a taxi and had a knife."
The victims have been taken to Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Aintree University Hospital, and Southport and Formby Hospital. A staff member at the Hart Space, who wished to remain anonymous, mentioned hearing that the suspect was wearing a "black hood" when he allegedly stabbed multiple children.
