SOUTHPORT
\nA third child died on Tuesday and five others remained critically injured after a knife attack on a Taylor Swift-themed dance event in a quiet seaside community in northern England, police said.
\nThe nine-year-old girl died in hospital early Tuesday, Merseyside Police said, as the force confirmed that two victims who died in the \u201cferocious\u201d stabbing spree Monday were also girls, aged six and seven.
\nEight other children suffered stab wounds during the attack in Southport, near Liverpool, which has shocked the UK and beyond. Two adults were also in a critical condition after being injured.
\nA 17-year-old male suspect from a nearby village arrested shortly after the incident remained in custody, police added, as they warned against speculating about his identity or details of the investigation.
\n\u201cThis incident is not currently being treated as terror-related and we are not looking for anyone else in connection with it,\u201d Merseyside Police said in its latest update.
\nHours earlier, US pop star Swift took to social media to say she was \u201ccompletely in shock\u201d over \u201cthe loss of life and innocence, and the horrendous trauma inflicted on everyone.\u201d
\n\u201cThese were just little kids at a dance class. I am at a complete loss for how to ever convey my sympathies to these families,\u201d she added on Instagram.
\nVisiting the scene of the attack to lay flowers and meet local officials, interior minister Yvette Cooper said police were pursuing \u201cevery single avenue\u201d as part of \u201ca serious criminal investigation.\u201d
\n\u201cThis was a horrific attack,\u201d she told reporters.
\nResidents of Southport, a small seaside town popular with summer visitors, were still coming to terms with the attack.
\n\u201cThe town is in shock and in mourning,\u201d local MP Patrick Hurley told AFP, calling it the \u201cmost horrific atrocity that Southport has experienced in living memory.\u201d
\nIt is a \u201cvery small town, a close-knit community and everybody will be intimately affected by this,\u201d he added.
\nPrime Minister Keir Starmer has called the events \u201cjust truly awful\u201d and said \u201cthe whole country is deeply shocked.\u201d
\nHe is likely to visit the community later Tuesday. An evening vigil will also be held.
\n\u201cI just cannot believe that it happened so close to home,\u201d Leanne Hassan told reporters Tuesday.
\nHassan had rushed to collect her daughter from a nearby nursery which was locked down after the attack.
\nHer daughter was safe, \u201cbut unfortunately that\u2019s not the reality for a lot of parents waking up today,\u201d she added.
\nPolice have revealed the children at the event were aged between six and 11, and the two adults injured were trying to protect them.
\nTributes have been paid on social media to the bravery of dance and yoga teacher Leanne Lucas, who was among the victims.
\nLocal business owner Colin Parry, one of those to call police, recounted to UK media members of his staff seeing \u201cabout 10 kids go running past him, all bleeding.\u201d
\n\u201cOne of them collapsed on the floor outside the neighbor next door,\u201d he told the Press Association (PA) news agency.
\nBare Varathan, who owns a local shop, told PA he saw \u201cseven to 10 kids\u201d who were \u201cinjured, bleeding.\u201d
\nThe teen male arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder is from neighboring village Banks but was born in the Welsh capital Cardiff, according to police.
\nHis identity and a possible motive for the attack have not been revealed.
\n\u201cA name has been shared on social media in connection with the suspect,\u201d police said Tuesday.
\n\u201cThis name is incorrect and we would urge people not to speculate on details of the incident while the investigation is ongoing.\u201d
\nWitnesses told UK media the attacker was seen arriving at the scene in a taxi late Monday morning, and that he entered the venue wearing a mask.
\nArmed officers detained the suspect nearby and seized a knife.
\nTargeted attacks on children are extremely rare in the UK.
\nMonday\u2019s incident evoked memories of a school massacre in the Scottish town of Dunblane in 1996, which claimed the lives of 16 young pupils and their teacher in Britain\u2019s worst mass shooting.
\nKing Charles III has offered his \u201cmost heartfelt condolences, prayers and deepest sympathies\u201d following the \u201cutterly horrific\u201d incident.
\nMeanwhile Prince William and his wife Catherine said \u201cas parents, we cannot begin to imagine what the families, friends and loved ones of those killed and injured in Southport today are going through.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SOUTHPORT A third child died on Tuesday and five others remained critically injured after a knife attack on a Taylor Swift-themed dance event in a quiet seaside community in northern England, police said. The nine-year-old girl died in hospital early Tuesday, Merseyside Police said, as the force confirmed that two victims who died in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":421812,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-421795","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n