Teenager continues to be questioned over ‘ferocious’ dance class stabbings

A teenager continues to be quizzed by police following a “ferocious” knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class which left two children dead and six other youngsters in a critical condition.

The 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, remains in custody accused of murder and attempted murder following the incident in Hart Street, Southport, on Monday, Merseyside Police said.

Nine children were injured in the stabbings, alongside the two who died and two adults who remain in a critical condition after attempting to protect the youngsters.

At the scene, flowers and teddies had been left by the police cordon in Hart Street.

One message in a “Thinking Of You” card said “thoughts and prayers” are with those affected and was signed: “Love – Southport.”

Another said: “Fly high with angels little ones.”

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer could visit the seaside town on Tuesday alongside Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Chancellor Rachel Reeves told Sky News.

Police have said that, although the motive for the attack is unclear, it is not believed to be terror-related.

The Daily Telegraph reported that businessman Jonathan Hayes was stabbed in the leg after attempting to disarm the attacker.

Asked if her husband had tried to put himself between the suspect and the children, his wife, Helen, told the newspaper: “He did. He heard screams.

“Our office is in the same building as the dance studio. He heard screams and went outside, saw the attacker, saw that he had hurt a child and tried to take the knife off him and got stabbed in the leg.”

She said she had been with her husband all afternoon at the hospital and added: “He’s very upset that he wasn’t able to be more help. Physically he will be OK, mentally I don’t know.”

Witnesses to the incident spoke of how the alleged knifeman arrived at the dance studio in a taxi and got out without paying.

One person told the Daily Telegraph the attacker had a black hooded top and was wearing a face mask.

The witness said the suspect then walked into the studio through a front door that was unlocked for fire safety reasons.

Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said that, after receiving reports of a stabbing at 11.47am, officers were “shocked to find that multiple people, many of whom were children, had been subjected to a ferocious attack and had suffered serious injuries”.

Some described the attack as “like a horror movie”, and others spoke of hearing “screaming” and seeing bleeding children running from the incident.

Emergency services said the scene was “horrific” and “chaotic” as they arrived at the children’s club.

Police said the suspect, who was born in Cardiff, is from the village of Banks, just outside Southport, and a road in the area was cordoned off by detectives on Monday afternoon.

All the casualties are being treated in hospitals, including children’s hospitals in Liverpool and Manchester.

Merseyside Police declared a major incident at the scene in Southport on Monday, with armed response vehicles, 13 ambulances and the fire service descending on the mass casualty scene.

The King said he and the Queen had been “profoundly shocked” to hear of the “utterly horrific incident in Southport today”.

The Prince and Princess of Wales described it as a “horrid and heinous” attack, adding: “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.”

The holiday club was advertised as including a dance and yoga workshop as well as bracelet making.

Social media posts promoting the event said the class was “open to children in Year 2 to Year 6”.

One local said one of the two adults injured in the attack locked herself in a room with children to protect them.

Colin Parry, the owner of Masters Vehicle Body Repairs, which is stationed about 50 metres from the scene, told The Guardian newspaper he had a heated exchange with a young man he believed to be the attacker moments before the incident.

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?’”

Mr 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”.

He added: “I went out and there’s two or three kids just lying on the floor. I mean, it’s a frenzied attack.

“It’s not one stab. He’s gone crazy, the lad’s gone crazy.”

Southport MP Patrick Hurley told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that a vigil for the victims of the attack has been planned for Tuesday evening.