A nine-year-old girl has become the third child to die after a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club.
Merseyside Police said the youngster died in the early hours of Tuesday morning following the deaths of two other girls, aged six and seven, in the attack in Southport, northwest England, on Monday.
A 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, remains in custody accused of murder and attempted murder following the incident at the dance studio in Hart Street.
Eight other children suffered stab wounds and five are in a critical condition, alongside two adults who were critically injured, police said.
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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 deadly stabbings have said.
US singer Taylor Swift said she is “completely in shock” after the “horror” of the knife attack.
Tributes have been paid on social media to the bravery of dance and yoga teacher Leanne Lucas after she was attacked in the incident.
Ms Lucas was named as an organiser of the event run by Southport-based business Enlighten in a post on Facebook.
In a statement released on social media on Tuesday, Swift said: “The horror of yesterday’s attack in Southport is washing over me continuously, and I’m just completely in shock.
“The loss of life and innocence, and the horrendous trauma inflicted on everyone who was there, the families and the first responders.
“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.”
Police said a name shared on social media in connection with the suspect is “incorrect”, adding: “We would urge people not to speculate on details of the incident while the investigation is ongoing.”
British home secretary Yvette Cooper is expected to make a statement on the attacks in the House of Commons on Tuesday afternoon, after earlier laying flowers at the police cordon.
She met first responders in the town on Tuesday morning.
Police said they are not treating the incident as terror-related but added the motive “remains unclear”.
[ Two children dead, nine injured after knife attack in SouthportOpens in new window ]
The suspect is from Banks, a village outside Southport, and a road in the area was cordoned off by police on Monday afternoon.
Merseyside Police had declared a major incident at the scene, after receiving emergency calls at 11.50am on Monday, with armed response vehicles, 13 ambulances and the fire service descending on the scene, a school holiday club for children aged six to 11.
The children were attending the dance school when the offender walked into the premises with a knife and attacked them.
Colin Parry, the owner of the Masters Vehicle Body Repairs 50 metres or so from the scene of the attack, told the Guardian he had a heated exchange with a young man he believes to be the attacker moments before the attack.
He said: “He came down our driveway in a taxi and didn’t pay for the taxi, so I confronted him at that point. He was quite aggressive he said: ‘What are you gonna do about it?’.”
Mr Parry said the man he now believes was the attacker then turned and walked out of the driveway of his business.
Moments later, Mr Parry said he received a phone call from a colleague who had run to the dance studio after he heard “screaming that wasn’t normal”, he added.
Mr Parry said a member of staff saw “about 10 kids go running past him, all bleeding, and one of them collapsed on the floor outside the neighbour next door”.
“I went out and there’s two or three kids just lying on the floor. I mean, it’s a frenzied attack,” he said. “It’s not one stab. He’s gone crazy, the lad’s gone crazy.” – PA