Two children have died and nine are injured after a stabbing in Southport, north of Liverpool, this morning.
Six of the injured children are in a critical condition.
All of the injured children were stabbed, police said.
Chief Constable Serena Kennedy described the attack as “ferocious”.
The attacks took place at a community centre called Hart Space, often used for mother and baby classes, on Hart Street in the Merseyside town, Sky News understands.
A “Taylor Swift Yoga and Dance Workshop” aimed at children aged between primary school years two and six (7-11 years old) was taking place at Hart Space at the time of the attack.
Southport stabbings:
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Merseyside Police declared a “major incident” after it received reports of the stabbings just before midday today.
Armed police arrested a 17-year-old boy and seized a knife but urged the public to avoid the area – as one local businessman described the scene as like a “horror movie” and said “mothers were screaming” in the aftermath.
The North West Ambulance Service said some of the victims were taken to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.
Other victims were taken to Aintree University Hospital, as well as Southport and Formby Hospital.
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