More Than A Dozen People, Mostly Children, Stabbed By 17-Year-Old Male In U.K., Multiple Fatalities Reported

 A 17-year-old male suspect is in custody in the U.K. for allegedly going on a stabbing spree Monday morning at a children’s dance class.

Two children have died while nine more children were wounded and two adults were wounded, said Serena Kennedy, the chief constable of the Merseyside Police, at a press conference.

Six of the injured children were in critical condition and both adults were in critical condition, she said. All of those who were injured were stabbed.

“We believe the adults who were injured were bravely trying to protect the children who were being attacked,” said Kennedy.

The attack unfolded in Southport, a seaside town near Liverpool, when the suspect walked into a “Taylor Swift-themed yoga and dance workshop for children” with a knife and began stabbing people, The New York Times reported.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer responded to the tragedy: “Horrendous and deeply shocking news emerging from Southport. My thoughts are with all those affected. I would like to thank the police and emergency services for their swift response. I am being kept updated as the situation develops.”

“The news from Southport is truly devastating. My heart goes out to all the families affected by this horrific incident & to the whole community,” said Yvette Cooper, Home Secretary and Labour MP for Pontefract, Castleford, and Knottingley. “I have just spoken to the Merseyside Chief Constable & I thank all the emergency services responding in such difficult circumstances.”

Bare Varathan, a nearby business owner who witnessed the aftermath of the attack, said: “They were in the road, running from the nursery.”

“They had been stabbed, here, here, here, everywhere,” indicating neck, back and chest, Varathan told the Associated Press.