2 kids dead, 11 people hurt in ‘ferocious’ stabbing attack at dance event in United Kingdom, 17-year-old arrested

LONDON — Two children were killed and nine others were injured in a stabbing attack at an event at a dance school in the United Kingdom, police said.

Six of the wounded children were in critical condition on Tuesday, along with two adults, who were also stabbed, Merseyside Police said. The adults had apparently been injured while protecting children, Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said in a statement.

A 17-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, police said. The incident wasn’t being treated as terror-related, and no other suspects were being sought, police said. A motive wasn’t clear, police added.

Officers responded just before noon local time to reports of a stabbing at a property on Hart Street in Southport, a seaside town about 20 miles north of Liverpool, according to Merseyside Police. Police said it was a Taylor Swift-themed event.

Officers who arrived at the scene were shocked at the “ferocious” attack, Kennedy said.

The U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the attack as “horrendous and deeply shocking.”

“My thoughts are with all those affected,” he wrote on social media. “I would like to thank the police and emergency services for their swift response. I am being kept updated as the situation develops.”

King Charles issued a statement saying he and his wife, Queen Camilla, were “profoundly shocked to hear of the utterly horrific incident in Southport today.”

“We send our most heartfelt condolences, prayers and deepest sympathies to the families and loved ones of those who have so tragically lost their lives, and to all those affected by this truly appalling attack,” the royals said in a statement.

Prince William and Princess Kate said in a statement: “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. We send our love, thoughts and prayers to all those involved in this horrid and heinous attack.”

The town of Southport sits in the county of Merseyside, in England’s northwest.

The suspect, whose name was not released, was from Banks, a coastal village in Lancashire, just outside Southport, police said. He was originally from Cardiff, Wales, police said.