EGN NEWS DESK
Six of the 9 wounded kids have been in important situation, Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy informed reporters throughout a information convention. All the youngsters suffered stab wounds, Kennedy mentioned.
Two adults who have been injured within the assault have been additionally in important situation, Kennedy mentioned. Investigators consider the adults have been injured whereas attempting to guard the youngsters, she mentioned.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla have been shocked by the assault, Charles mentioned in a press release posted to social media, calling the assault “completely horrific.”
“We ship our most heartfelt condolences, prayers and deepest sympathies to the households and family members of those that have so tragically misplaced their lives, and to all these affected by this really appalling assault,” Charles mentioned.
Prince William and his spouse Catherine, the Princess of Wales, additionally expressed sympathy for the victims and their households.
“As dad and mom, we can’t start to think about what the households, associates and family members of these killed and injured in Southport as we speak are going by,” the couple mentioned. “We ship our love, ideas and prayers to all these concerned on this horrid and heinous assault.”
Police acquired studies concerning the assault at 11:47 a.m., Kennedy mentioned.
“When they arrived, they have been shocked to seek out that a number of folks, lots of whom have been kids, had been subjected to a ferocious assault and had suffered severe accidents,” Kennedy mentioned.
James Speakman/PA Images by way of Getty Images
Kennedy did not establish the suspect in custody. She mentioned the teenager lived in Banks, a few 15-minute drive away from Southport, and that he was initially from Cardiff, the capital of Wales.
Investigators have been working to find out a motive for the assault, police mentioned in a press release.
“The incident shouldn’t be at the moment being handled as terror-related and we aren’t on the lookout for anybody else in reference to the incident,” the assertion mentioned.
The kids have been attending a Taylor Swift-themed occasion on the dance faculty when the attacker entered with a knife and began to assault, Kennedy mentioned.
“As a mum and a nanna, I can not start to think about the ache and struggling that the households of the victims are going by,” she mentioned.
North West Ambulance Service mentioned eight folks with stab accidents have been transported to regional hospitals, together with a pediatric facility. The identities of the victims weren’t instantly clear.
Alder Hey Children’s Hospital declared a significant incident and requested dad and mom to not convey their kids into its emergency room except it was pressing, the Reuters information company reported.
An area enterprise proprietor, Colin Parry, who mentioned he’d known as the police, informed the U.Okay.’s Press Association information company he believed six or seven “younger women” had been stabbed.
“The moms are coming right here now and screaming. It is sort of a scene from a horror film,” he mentioned. “It’s like one thing from America, not like sunny Southport.”
A mum or dad who requested to stay nameless informed the Press Association his “daughter was in [the attack] and she or he was traumatized. She ran away and she or he’s secure.”
“Horrendous and deeply surprising information rising from Southport. My ideas are with all these affected,” U.Okay. Prime Minister Keir Starmer mentioned on social media. “I want to thank the police and emergency providers for his or her swift response. I’m being stored up to date because the state of affairs develops.”
