How Southport attack unfolded: Two killed and eight people critical after mass stabbing at dance workshop
30 July 2024, 09:13
Six children and two adults remain in a critical condition following a deadly stabbing in Southport on Monday.
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Two children were killed in what police called a "ferocious" attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga workshop.
It was meant to be a fun summer holiday event for children, which took place at The Hart Space, a community hub and pregnancy care centre in Southport, 20 miles north of Liverpool.
But it became a horror scene when a 17-year-old boy entered and launched a knife attack
According to police the teenager is originally from Cardiff and lived in the village of Banks, close by to Southport, and now remains in custody having been arrested on suspicion of murder.
Police say the incident is not being treated as terror-related and they are not looking for anyone else.
Eight patients were taken to hospital with stab injuries from Hart Street, which is a mostly residential area approximately one mile from Southport station.
The workshop had been organised by Enlighten, a yoga studio for children, and was scheduled to happen from 10am to 12pm on Monday morning.
It was led by two teachers and was for children aged between six and 11, or Years 2 to 6 at primary school.
Local residents described the attack as like a "scene from a horror movie".
Colin Parry is a local business owner who called the police, and thinks he saw the perpetrator of the attack in the lead-up to the stabbing.
Mr Parry works at Masters Vehicle Body Repairs, a car body shop that neighbours The Hart Space on Hart Street.
He recalls seeing a taxi drop a male passenger off at his address, which had been the wrong location, but then lost sight of the man before spotting the back of the taxi driving away.
He said: "It's like something from America, not like sunny Southport. It was definitely intentional."
Next, Mr Parry witnessed his colleague carry a young girl from the building next to Masters, and both of them were covered in blood.
Soon after, parents arrived to pick up their children just before lunchtime and were heard screaming in distress.
The commotion caught the attention of Ryan Carney, who lives with his mother on Hart Street.
Mr Carney said his mother Hayley saw a "woman screaming saying she couldn't find her child".
He added that his mother saw emergency services "carrying out a few bodies of girls... in white, but covered in red, covered in blood", adding that she could "see the stab wounds in the backs of the children".
Meanwhile, at 11.47am, Merseyside Police received an emergency call reporting an incident at a location on Hart Street.
One minute later, the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) responded to a call reporting the stabbings.
Emergency services declared a "major incident" and 13 ambulances and an air ambulance were dispatched to the scene.
Dave Kitchin, head of service for the North West Ambulance Service in Cheshire and Merseyside, said the paramedics arrived to a "devastating scene".
The ambulances and air ambulances took 13 victims to Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Manchester Children's Hospital, Aintree Hospital, Southport & Formby Hospital and Ormskirk Hospital.
Alder Hey declared a "major incident", saying its emergency department was "extremely busy" and urged parents to only bring their children to the department if it was urgent.
Firefighters were also dispatched to the tragedy to offer trauma care, first aid and look for others who may have been caught up in the attack.
Fire and rescue crews stood down at 4.15pm.
In a press conference at around 6.45pm, Chief Constable of Merseyside Police Serena Kennedy said when officers arrived they were "shocked to find" several children had been "subjected to a ferocious attack and had suffered serious injuries".
"The offender, armed with a knife, walked into the premises and started to attack the children inside," the chief constable added.
The police said a 17-year-old male from the nearby Lancashire village of Banks, who was born in Cardiff, had been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, and taken into custody.
The King and Queen sent their "deepest sympathies" to the families of those affected.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper also said she was "deeply concerned" about the "very serious incident", while the prime minister provided a clip to broadcasters saying the whole country was "shocked" by the attack.
