CHURCH leaders have expressed their shock at a fatal knife attack on a children’s dance class in Southport, Merseyside, on Monday morning.
Two girls, aged six and seven, died on Monday. A third girl, aged nine, died from her injuries in hospital in the early hours of Tuesday, Merseyside Police said.
Five other children and two adults who were hospitalised remain in a critical condition.
The stabbings happened at a fully booked summer-holiday dance and yoga class at the Hart Space studio, about one mile east of the town centre.
The Chief Constable of Merseyside, Serena Kennedy, said on Monday evening: “A 17-year-old male from Banks in Lancashire, who was born in Cardiff, has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder and has been taken to a police station where he will be interviewed by detectives.”
Merseyside Police said in a statement on Tuesday that the 17-year-old male remained in police custody. “This incident is not currently being treated as terror-related and we are not looking for anyone else in connection with it.”
Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme on Tuesday morning, the Vicar of Holy Trinity, Southport, the Revd Dr Thomas Carpenter, said that members of the community were “horrified and unable to understand how this could have happened. Southport is a quiet, kind place in which nothing ever happens, so . . . people are struggling to understand it.”
The church is two streets away from the site of the attack. “One of my parishioners came back from walking her dog to find the street littered with bleeding children, which is not something that is easily processed,” he said.
Asked how he had responded to the community, Dr Carpenter said that he considered the incident to be “one act of evil, one act of cruelty, that has been the occasion to hundreds of acts of kindness and love and care, and that the place in which they live is summed up in those hundreds of acts of kindness, rather than in this one act of cruelty and evil”.
It was also a place of bravery, too, he said. “Two of the people currently being treated in hospital had put themselves in harm’s way to try and save as many children as they could.”
The Bishop of Liverpool, Dr John Perumbalath, told Radio 4’s World at One on Tuesday that local clergy knew some of the families who had been affected. “Being part of that community, that experience of shock and grief and now anger — all of that is part of our response, and that is what actually has happened. The Church is very much there, with charities and emergency services, to support people in that journey in grief and sadness.”
He continued: “It is the kind of tragedy that is very unusual for that community, and even for the priest and church there, it is the first time they are ministering in that kind of context. The first thing we do is pray . . . for those affected, for those who mourn, and for those who care care for the affected, and support and care for the families who have lost their dear ones. . . A lot of clergy know these families.”
Churches were open, he said, and were considered a “safe space” within the community, a place for reflection and of peace, where “people can come together. . . where they might feel something out of the ordinary”.
“The community is very resilient, it seems. . . People are gathering and talking and sharing their grief.”
Asked what he could say to people in situations such as this, he said: “The most important message is that we are there with you and for you. I don’t think any words are going to make sense of the situation. We need to be actually there, joining in that pain, experiencing what our community is going through.”
Speaking about the “two brave adults” who are reported to have been injured attempting to protect the children, he said: “There is a lot of kindness, a lot of good will among people to support one another.”
On Tuesday, it was confirmed that the Taylor-Swift themed class — for six- to 11-year-olds — had been organised by Leanne Lucas. The 35-year-old yoga teacher has been commended, on social media, for her bravery. Her condition has not been made public.
Ms Swift posted a statement on Instagram: “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 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.”
The King and Queen, the Prime Minister, and church leaders were among those to express their shock in messages of condolence.
The Area Bishop of Warrington, the Rt Revd Beverly Mason, posted on X: “Across Southport and Liverpool united in grief at the devastating, utterly shocking and heart shattering events of Hart Lane. For details of Prayers, Vigils and Listeners contact your local church.”
The Bishop of Blackburn, the Rt Revd Philip North, said: “It’s impossible to imagine the pain of the families caught up in the Southport incident.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury wrote on social media on Monday evening: “My prayers are with the victims of the appalling stabbings in Southport today — and especially with the parents and loved ones of the two children who were killed. I pray that God would draw near and comfort them in this unimaginable grief.
“I pray too for those who were injured, their families and those caring for them, and for those who witnessed and responded to this devastating attack.”
The Archbishop of York also said that he was “praying for the souls of those who died and for those injured . . . also for their families and all who are caring for them.”
Another Anglican church near by, Christ Church, Southport, was due to hold a vigil on Tuesday evening. A statement posted on its Facebook page said: “Our hearts and prayers go out to all those who have been affected. For those fighting in hospital, for those whose world has fallen apart, for those who are afraid, for those who first responded, for those who know someone that was there, for our town.”
The Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, who laid flowers at the police cordon on Tuesday morning, described the attack as “utterly heartbreaking. My heart goes out to the children, their parents, the brave adults trying to protect them, and the families of all affected. It is unimaginable what they will be going through.”
She promised to “do what we can to support the community who will be deeply shaken”.
The community has set up a JustGiving page to support the families affected. The funds raised will be donated to the Alder Hey Children’s Charity, to support with funeral costs. Donations have reached more than £83,000, after an original target was set of £13,000.