Witnesses described the attack as being like a scene from a horror film. In addition to the three deaths, eight children suffered stab wounds. Five of them and two adults who had tried to protect them remain in a critical condition.
The police have said the motive remained unclear and have not given any details about the suspect, beyond saying he was born in Wales and lived in a village nearby.
“These were just little kids at a dance class”: Taylor Swift posted a message on her Instagram in response to the Southport stabbing attack.Credit: Instagram/Getty Images
“There has been much speculation and hypothesis around the status of a 17-year-old male who is currently in police custody and some individuals are using this to bring violence and disorder to our streets,” said Assistant Chief Constable Alex Goss.
“We have already said that the person arrested was born in the UK and speculation helps nobody at this time.”
Goss and local politicians said those clashing with police involved many from outside the area, and the Liverpool Region Mosque Network said a minority of people were trying to use the incident to spread hatred.
“This evening we have seen distressing scenes outside Southport Mosque with angry protesters gathering outside,” it said in a statement. “This is causing further fear and anxiety within our communities.”
Emergency personnel comfort members of the public near the scene in Hart Street, where three children died in the knife attack.Credit: AP
Starmer had earlier paid a sombre visit to the town to lay flowers, and King Charles and his family have expressed their horror. US singer Swift herself wrote on Instagram that she was “just completely in shock”.
‘Just little kids’
“These were just little kids at a dance class. I am at a complete loss for how to ever convey my sympathies to these families,” she said.
Her fans have raised more than £250,000 ($490,000) online to help families of the victims and for the hospital where some of the children were being treated.
The three girls who died in the attack were named as Bebe King, aged 6, 7-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, aged 9, whose parents are Portuguese.
“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,” Aguiar’s family said in a statement.
There has been increasing concern at rising levels of stabbings and knife crime in Britain, and the Southport attack follows other recent similar, indiscriminate rampages.
“I’m absolutely determined that my government will get to grips with it,” Starmer said.
Reuters
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