The Guardian

Southport stabbing latest: vigil to be held after two children killed and six remain in critical condition

By Yohannes Lowe (now) and Hamish Mackay (earlier),

2 hours ago

10.01am BST

Southport stabbings 'worst atrocity' town has known in living memory, local MP says

Ben Roberts-Haslam, a reporter from the Liverpool Echo, is at the scene in Southport and has posted an interview the local MP Patrick Hurley has given to journalists.

When asked what the general feeling in the community was and if there was any anger, Hurley said:

Right now I think there’s a range of emotions people are feeling. We have just had the worst atrocity that Southport has known in living memory. And I think that people are feeling sad, people feeling shocked, people are feeling like they want answers.
What I would encourage people to do is work with the emergency services, work with the police to make sure that they do their job methodically and in an organised fashion.

Hurley says the town is in mourning and described yesterday’s incident as a “uniquely horrific” one which has sent “shockwaves” through the quiet, seaside town in north-west England. He said families across the area will be impacted directly. “Children across town will know children that have been directly impacted by what happened yesterday,” he told reporters.

9.44am BST

Key event

Jonathan Hayes , a 63-year-old local businessman, tried to disarm the Southport attacker after hearing screams from his office, The Telegraph has reported .

Hayes was reportedly stabbed in the leg after running into the dance studio to try and protect the children, who were at a Taylor Swift-themed yoga and dance class at the Hart Space, a studio that also hosts antenatal and hypnobirthing classes.

Asked if Hayes had tried to put himself between the attacker and the children, his wife, Helen, told the paper: “He did. He heard screams.”

She explained: “Our office is in the same building as the dance studio, he heard screams and went outside, saw the attacker, saw that he had hurt a child and tried to take the knife off him and got stabbed in the leg…”

“I’ve been with him all afternoon at the hospital. He’s very upset that he wasn’t able to be more help. Physically he will be OK, mentally I don’t know.”

9.43am BST

Taylor Swift fans have set up a Just Giving page where people can contribute towards funeral costs and victim support. So far, more than £23,500 has been raised.

The page’s organiser, Cristina Jones, wrote:

We are working with Alder Hey children’s hospital to help raise money for the families affected by the tragedy in Southport, and raising funeral funds for the two young swifties who have tragically passed.
Every donation through this link goes directly to the verified charity below, which will in turn help make a difference to those impacted in a time of great sadness.

Monday’s stabbings took place at a Taylor Swift-themed yoga and dance class at the Hart Space in Southport.

Updated at 9.44am BST

9.17am BST

Southport Football Club said it has cancelled tonight’s pre-season friendly match with Morecambe FC “out of respect to those who have so tragically lost their lives” and to those who will be “deeply impacted” by the Southport attack . The match was scheduled to take place in the club’s Haig Avenue stadium this evening, near the scene of the incident.

In a post on social media yesterday evening, the club said in a statement:

The club would like to reiterate that tomorrow the Club Lounge will be open from 10am-3pm for those who wish to gather, share their thoughts and find support during this difficult time.
Specialist support staff will be present to offer assistance and comfort to those who need it.

Updated at 9.21am BST

9.10am BST

There continues to be tributes, including flowers, dolls and stuffed toys, being left at the scene in Southport, where a large police cordon remains in place. Here are a few the latest pictures we have been sent over the newswires this morning:

8.43am BST

Starmer will visit community reeling from Southport knife attack later today, chancellor suggests

Keir Starmer will visit the community in Southport later today, Rachel Reeves , the chancellor, has indicated.

Asked whether the prime minister will visit Southport on Tuesday, Reeves told Sky News: “I’m sure he will be and I know that the home secretary is already there.”

Reacting to the attack, she said:

Beyond the worst nightmare of any parent what’s unfolding in Southport. And my thoughts and prayers are with all of those families affected.
And I also just pay tribute to the emergency services, particularly at Alder Hey hospital who are having to treat the children and families who have been impacted by what happened yesterday.
Nothing can prepare you for something like this. And I think everybody across our country today is thinking of that community and those families.

Yvette Cooper , the home secretary, is in Southport this morning and will meet Merseyside’s chief constable Serena Kennedy, police and crime commissioner Emily Spurrell, along with other community leaders.

Updated at 8.49am BST

8.32am BST

Vigil to be held this evening for victims of Southport stabbings, local MP says

The Labour MP for Southport, Patrick Hurley , has been on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. He said there will be a vigil held tonight for the victims of the attack, which he said has left the area in “shock and grief”.

Hurley said the attack on Hart Street was a “uniquely horrific event” and that his thoughts were with the community and the victims. In a statement on X last night, the MP encouraged anyone with information about the incident to go to the police and has reiterated calls for members of the public not to spread speculation on social media.

Police have said two children have died and nine have been injured, six critically, after the series of stabbings at a children’s dance class in Southport on Monday (you can read more details about exactly what happened, with eyewitness accounts, in this report ).

Updated at 8.34am BST

8.16am BST

The Guardian’s police and crime correspondent, Vikram Dodd , has written this analysis piece about how the Southport attack stirs memories of the 1996 Dunblane massacre, in which 16 children were murdered along with their teacher when Thomas Hamilton broke into the gymnasium of Dunblane primary school armed with four handguns and began shooting at a class of five- and six-year-olds. He notes that such incidents in the UK are extremely rare and explains what some of the next steps in Merseyside police’s investigation may be as officers try to work out what the motivation for yesterday morning’s “ferocious” knife attack was.

7.56am BST

Where did the attack take place?

Interactive

7.53am BST

King Charles sent his “most heartfelt condolences” to the families and loved ones of the victims.

He said: “My wife and I have been 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 prime minister, Keir Starmer, said the events in Southport were “just truly awful” and that “the whole country is deeply shocked at what they have seen and what they have heard”.

“I know I speak for everybody in the whole country in saying our thoughts and condolences are with the victims, their families, their friends and with the wider community. It is impossible to imagine what they are going through.”

He also thanked the emergency services for their response, saying: “They have responded to an awful incident today. I want to thank them for the professionalism they have shown in doing so.”

7.51am BST

You can watch a clip from last night’s police press conference here:

7.50am BST

Residents and business owners described horrific scenes after the attack, including children bleeding in the street and parents screaming as they tried to locate their child.

Alaina Riley, 18, said her aunt, who lives across the road from the venue, witnessed “little kids run out screaming covered in blood” and two staff members “crawling” out of the building.

Riley said her aunt saw parents running out of the dance class carrying children covered in blood and attempting to resuscitate them.

“I think it was pickup time,” Riley said. “She said she had never heard screams like it. She was distraught and in an absolute state on the phone to me.”

Local people were reportedly bringing children out of the building to tend to their injuries before the emergency services arrived.

Colin Parry, the owner of Masters car repair shop, which is next door to the Hart Space, said he saw “two or three kids” lying seriously injured on the floor.

“It was horrific, absolutely,” he said, adding that his colleague ran to the door of the dance studio after he heard “screaming that wasn’t normal”.

“About 10 kids go running past him, all bleeding, and one of them collapsed on the floor outside,” he said.

Further down the road, Debrah Parker, 57, said she heard a young girl come out of the building saying: “Mum, I’ve been stabbed, I’ve been stabbed.”

“She [the mother] bundled her in the car as fast as she could, she was screaming: ‘Help me, help me.’ She was covered in blood,” she said.

7.50am BST

Six children remain in critical condition after two killed in Southport attack

Six children and two adults remain in a critical condition in hospital after yesterday’s knife attack in Southport.

Two children have already died as a result of the attack, which took place at a Taylor Swift-themed yoga and dance class at the Hart Space, a studio that also hosts antenatal and hypnobirthing classes, in the north-west seaside town.

Serena Kennedy, the chief constable of Merseyside police, said a man armed with a knife had entered the class and started to attack the children at about 11.47am on Monday.

“When [officers] arrived, they were shocked to find that multiple people, many of whom were children, had been subjected to a ferocious attack and had suffered serious injuries,” she said.

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

A 17-year-old boy, from the village of Banks in Lancashire and born in Cardiff, was later arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder in connection with the attack.

Kennedy said “the motivation for the incident remains unclear” but it was not currently being treated as terrorist-related, although Counter Terrorism Police North West had offered their support to the force in its investigation.