Pictured: Girls aged 6, 7, and 9, who were killed in Southport knife rampage
30 July 2024, 15:34 | Updated: 30 July 2024, 16:05
The three girls killed in the Southport stabbing attack have been named as Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar.
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Bebe, 6, Elsie, 7, and Alice, 9, were stabbed at a Taylor Swift dance club in the seaside town on Monday.
Eight other children were hurt, five of whom are in a critical condition in hospital. Two other adults are in a critical condition.
The families of two of the children paid tribute on Tuesday after they were named.
Bebe's family said: "No words can describe the devastation that has hit our family as try to deal with the loss of our little girl Bebe."
Read more: 'True hero' personal trainer rushed in to tackle Southport knifeman and rescue children
The family of Alice Dasilva Aguiar said: "Keep smiling and dancing like you love to do our Princess, like we said before to you, you're always our princess and no one would change that.
"Love from Your Hero Daddy and Mummy."
A 17-year-old boy from Banks, a few miles north of Southport, was arrested on Monday. He is still being questioned by police.
No motive has been determined yet, although officers said they do not think the attack was terror-related.
The attack has sparked a wave of outrage and sorrow, with commiserations shared by the King and Keir Starmer, among others.
A statement from Merseyside Police's chief constable Serena Kennedy on Monday read: "My officers were called to reports of a stabbing at 11.47am at an address Southport.
"When they arrived they were shocked to find that multiple people, many of whom were children, had been subjected to a ferocious attack and had suffered serious injuries.
"It is understood that the children were attending a Taylor Swift event at a dance school when the offender, who was armed with a knife, walked into the premises and started to attack those inside.
"We believe that the adults who were injured were trying to protect the children at the time they were attacked.
"As a mum of two daughters, and the nanna of a five-year-old granddaughter, I cannot begin to imagine the pain and suffering the families of the victims are currently going through and I want to send them our heartfelt condolences and sympathies.
"Our specialist Family Liaison Officers are providing support to the families at this terrible time."
The fully booked club for children, which was advertised as a dance and yoga workshop as well as bracelet-making, quickly became something "like a horror movie", witnesses to the stabbings have said.
US singer Swift said she is "completely in shock" after the "horror" of the knife attack.
Fans of the pop star had raised more than £103,000 by Tuesday afternoon via their Swifties for Southport online fundraiser.
