LANCASHIRE (AFP) - US pop star Taylor Swift said she was “completely in shock” after an assailant in the English town of Southport attacked children at a Swift-themed dance class. A third child died on Tuesday of injuries sustained in Monday’s knife attack as police questioned a 17-year-old suspect arrested minutes after the rampage.
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 "ferocious" stabbing spree Monday were also girls, aged six and seven.
Eight 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.
A 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.
"This incident is not currently being treated as terror-related and we are not looking for anyone else in connection with it," Merseyside Police said in its latest update.
Hours earlier, US pop star Swift took to social media to say she was "completely in shock" over "the loss of life and innocence, and the horrendous trauma inflicted on everyone".
"These were just little kids at a dance class. I am at a complete loss for how to ever convey my sympathies to these families," she added on Instagram.
Visiting the scene of the attack to lay flowers and meet local officials, interior minister Yvette Cooper said police were pursuing "every single avenue" as part of "a serious criminal investigation".
"This was a horrific attack," she told reporters.
'DEEPLY SHOCKED'
Residents of Southport, a small seaside town popular with summer visitors, were still coming to terms with the attack.
"The town is in shock and in mourning", local MP Patrick Hurley told AFP, calling it the "most horrific atrocity that Southport has experienced in living memory".
It is a "very small town, a close-knit community and everybody will be intimately affected by this", he added.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called the events "just truly awful" and said "the whole country is deeply shocked".
He is likely to visit the community later Tuesday. An evening vigil will also be held.
"I just cannot believe that it happened so close to home," Leanne Hassan told reporters Tuesday.
Hassan had rushed to collect her daughter from a nearby nursery which was locked down after the attack.
Her daughter was safe, "but unfortunately that's not the reality for a lot of parents waking up today," she added.
Police have revealed the children at the event were aged between six and 11, and the two adults injured were trying to protect them.
Tributes have been paid on social media to the bravery of dance and yoga teacher Leanne Lucas, who was among the victims.
Local business owner Colin Parry, one of those to call police, recounted to UK media members of his staff seeing "about 10 kids go running past him, all bleeding".
"One of them collapsed on the floor outside the neighbour next door," he told the Press Association (PA) news agency.
Bare Varathan, who owns a local shop, told PA he saw "seven to 10 kids" who were "injured, bleeding".
'UTTERLY HORRIFIC'
The teen male arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder is from neighbouring village Banks but was born in the Welsh capital Cardiff, according to police.
His identity and a possible motive for the attack have not been revealed.
"A name has been shared on social media in connection with the suspect," police said Tuesday.
"This name is incorrect and we would urge people not to speculate on details of the incident while the investigation is ongoing."
Witnesses 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.
Armed officers detained the suspect nearby and seized a knife.
Targeted attacks on children are extremely rare in the UK.
Monday's 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's worst mass shooting.
King Charles III has offered his "most heartfelt condolences, prayers and deepest sympathies" following the "utterly horrific" incident.
Meanwhile Prince William and his wife Catherine said "as parents, we cannot begin to imagine what the families, friends and loved ones of those killed and injured in Southport today are going through".