Police have released an important new update after several people, including children, were injured and two were killed at a Taylor Swift dance party.
A teenager remains in police custody tonight after nine people were injured in a knife attack near a Taylor Swift-themed yoga class. In a press conference at 6.30pm, Merseyside Police confirmed six children are now in a critical condition and two adults have also been seriously injured. The North West Ambulance Service treated 11 people at the scene.
Officers previously said the stabbings were not being treated as terrorist-related and they were not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident. Police confirmed that a 17-year-old boy from the village of Banks had been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.
The teenager, originally from Cardiff, is due to be questioned following the “serious incident” at a property on Hart Street in Southport, north of Liverpool, at around 11.50am on Monday.
Merseyside Police Chief Serena Kennedy said it was believed the adults at the scene were “valiantly trying to protect the children who were being attacked”.
Police Commissioner Serena Kennedy said children were attending a Taylor Swift event at a dance school when the perpetrator entered the premises armed with a knife and began attacking the children.
She added: “We believe that the injured adults were bravely trying to protect the children who were attacked. As a mother and grandmother, I cannot even begin to imagine the pain and suffering that the families of the victims must be going through.”
Police Commissioner Kennedy added that the motive for the attack was “unclear” but had no terrorist background. She also said the investigation was still in its early stages.
Dave Kitchin, of the North West Ambulance Service, said paramedics had treated 11 injured people. He said: “Tragically, we can confirm that two lives have been lost. There is no doubt that this incident will have a lasting impact on the whole community.”
