American singer Taylor Swift expressed shock over a knife attack at a dance and yoga class themed after her in the United Kingdom, which has resulted in the deaths of at least three children.
According to reports from the Associated Press, on Tuesday (July 30), a 9-year-old girl who was stabbed succumbed to her injuries despite rescue efforts, raising the death toll in this knife attack incident to three.
Police are currently interrogating a 17-year-old suspect who was arrested minutes after the violent incident occurred.
The incident took place near Liverpool in northwest England. The Merseyside Police stated that the other two victims were also girls, aged 6 and 7.
Eight other children and two adult victims are still hospitalized, with two adults and five children in critical condition.
Taylor Swift expressed being “completely shocked” by the event and is still grappling with the “terror” brought about by this act of violence.
“These were just kids going to dance class,” she wrote on her Instagram account. “I have no idea how to express my sympathy to these families.”
Witnesses described the scene as something out of a horror movie, with bloodied children fleeing in all directions. The attack occurred on Monday near noon, and the suspect was swiftly apprehended on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. Authorities disclosed that the suspect was born in Cardiff, Wales, and had lived in a village about 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the scene in Southport, Merseyside for several years. He has not yet been charged.
Authorities have stated that the investigative team does not consider Monday’s attack to be terrorism-related and there is no search for additional suspects.
Serena Kennedy, Chief Constable of the Merseyside Police, remarked, “We believe the injured adults bravely attempted to protect the children who were under attack.”
This incident marks the latest shocking attack in the UK, occurring at a yoga and dance training class themed after the American pop singer, catered for children aged 6 to 11.
Witnesses noted that most of the victims appeared to be young girls.
In the UK, incidents of gun violence resulting in deaths are rare. In the year leading up to March 2023, knives were involved in about 40% of homicides in the UK.
Nevertheless, large-scale knife attacks are also uncommon in the UK, and Monday’s violent incident has sparked significant concern across British society.