Children are among the injured in Southport, north of Liverpool
Eight people, including six or seven young girls, were injured in a mass stabbing attack in Southport, northwest England.
Merseyside Police responded to an incident on Hart Street in the town of 95,000 shortly before noon on Monday, and apprehended a man armed with a knife.
Police identified the suspect as “a 17-year-old male” from the nearby community of Banks and stated that the incident is “not currently being treated as terror-related.”
Colin Parry, owner of Masters Vehicle Body Repairs on Hart Street, told reporters that six or seven “young girls” had been stabbed.
“The mothers are coming here now and screaming. It is like a scene from a horror movie,” Parry told the PA news agency. “It’s like something from America, not like sunny Southport.”
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of Liverpool City Region, urged the public to refrain from spreading “unconfirmed speculation and false information” and to wait for official updates. Local authorities have not provided many details about the attack, stating only that “there is no wider threat to the public.”
The specific location targeted by the attacker remains unclear. Tim Johnson, a journalist at the local outlet Eye on Southport,told the BBC that the incident occurred at the Hope of Hart children’s club. A nearby yoga studio was hosting a “Taylor Swift yoga and dance workshop” for elementary-school children at the time.
The North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) reported that they had sent 13 ambulances and special resources to the scene. To date, “eight patients with stab injuries” have received treatment at Merseyside’s Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, Aintree University Hospital and Southport and Formby hospital, NWAS said.
Alder Hey has requested that parents only bring children in for treatment “if it is urgent,” as the hospital’s emergency department is “currently extremely busy.”
“Horrendous and deeply shocking news emerging from Southport. My thoughts are with all those affected,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on X, formerly Twitter, in response to the incident. “I am being kept updated as the situation develops.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper characterized the Southport incident as “very serious” and “awful,” expressing gratitude to the emergency services for their “swift and courageous response.”