one child killed and several others injured, what is known

A knife attack took place on Monday at a holiday club in the United Kingdom. The toll is still provisional, but at least one child is believed to have lost his life.

Late in the morning, this Monday, July 29, 2024, a yoga and dance workshop, on the theme of Taylor Swift, intended for children was targeted by a man armed with a knife, in a holiday club in Southport, a tourist town in England located on the coast of the Irish Sea, in the county of Merseyside. According to information from DailyMailat least one child is reported to have died after being seriously injured. While nearly 25 children, aged 6 to 11, were participating in the workshop, several other children were also injured in the attack. The toll is that at least seven others were injured.

“At around 11.50am we were called to a property on Hart Street for a stabbing,” Merseyside Police confirmed to the DailyMail, adding that while the death toll would be confirmed later, a man had been arrested. “Armed officers arrested a man and seized a knife. He was taken to the police station,” the police said, without giving further details on the profile or identity of the alleged perpetrator. The police also urged the public to avoid the area during their intervention and reassured: “There is no wider threat to the public.”

For their part, several eyewitnesses claim to have seen a man wearing a “black hood” get out of a taxi that had arrived shortly before the attack on the street called “Hart Street”, where the events took place. Many then describe the horror and especially the screams of the children as they fled towards the street.

The British Prime Minister has already reacted, deploring “horrible and deeply shocking news”. “My thoughts are with all those affected. I would like to thank the police and emergency services for their swift response,” Sir Keir Starmer. The British Home Secretary said: ““deeply concerned by the very serious incident in Southport,” on the social network X.