LONDON (AP) 鈥� Police clashed with an unruly crowd of far-right protesters outside a mosque Tuesday in northwest England near where three girls were stabbed to death in a dance class as demonstrators, some in masks, hurled bottles and stones at officers, Merseyside police said.
Police said the crowd was believed to be supporters of the English Defence League, a far-right group, and the unrest was inspired by speculation about the teenage boy arrested in the stabbing that injured 10 other people, including seven who were in critical condition.
鈥淭here has been much speculation and hypothesis around the status of a 17-year-old male who is currently in police custody and some individuals are using this to bring violence and disorder to our streets,鈥� Merseyside Assistant Chief Constable Alex Goss said. 鈥淲e have already said that the person arrested was born in the UK and speculation helps nobody at this time.
Shortly after a peaceful vigil was attended by hundreds in the center of Southport to mourn the stabbing victims, the crowd near the mosque became unruly. A police van was set ablaze and sent thick dark smoke billowing into the sky. One officer suffered a broken nose.
Officers in riot gear policed the area amid chants of 鈥淣o surrender!鈥� and 鈥淓nglish till I die!鈥� Firecrackers exploded, sirens wailed and helicopter hovered overhead amid the chaos. Some officers appeared to have minor injuries.
A day earlier, the girls killed had taken part in a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga workshop on the first week of summer vacation when a person armed with a knife entered the studio and began a vicious attack, police said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 difficult to comprehend or put into words the horror of what happened,鈥� Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said while briefing members of Parliament. 鈥淲hat should have been a joyful start to the summer turned into an unspeakable tragedy.鈥�
Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Bebe King, 6, died from their injuries, police said.
鈥淜eep smiling and dancing like you love to do our princess,鈥� Aguiar鈥檚 parents said in a statement released by police. 鈥淟ike we said before to you, you鈥檙e always our princess and no one would change that.鈥�
King's family said no words could describe their devastation at the loss "of our little girl Bebe.鈥�
Eight children and two adults remained hospitalized after the attack in Southport. Both adults and five of the children were in critical condition.
An emotional crowd that gathered in Southport outside the Atkinson theater and museum in the early evening held a minute of silence for the victims.
June Burns, the mayor of neighboring Sefton, called for calm and respect and urged people to be good to one another. She said she was overcome with emotion when she visited the scene of the tragedy earlier.
鈥淚t鈥檚 unbelievable that we find ourselves laying flowers for little girls who just wanted to dance,鈥� she said.
Swift said earlier on Instagram that she was 鈥渃ompletely in shock鈥� and still taking in 鈥渢he horror鈥� of the event.
鈥淭hese were just little kids at a dance class," she wrote. 鈥淚 am at a complete loss for how to ever convey my sympathies to these families.鈥�
People left flowers and stuffed animals in tribute at a police cordon on the street lined with brick houses in the seaside resort near Liverpool where the beach and pier attract vacationers from across northwest England. They also posted online messages of support for teacher Leanne Lucas, the organizer of the event, who was one of those attacked.
Witnesses described scenes 鈥渇rom a horror movie鈥� as bloodied children ran from the attack just before noon Monday. The 17-year-old suspect was arrested soon afterward on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. Police said he was born in Cardiff, Wales, and had lived for years in a village about 3 miles (5 kilometers) from Southport. He has not yet been charged.
The rampage is the latest shocking attack in a country where has stoked anxieties and led to calls for the government to do more to clamp down on bladed weapons, which are by far the most commonly used instruments in U.K. homicides.
was jeered by some as he visited the crime scene and lay a wreath of pink and white flowers with a handwritten note that said: 鈥淥ur hearts are broken, there are no words for such profound loss. The nation鈥檚 thoughts are with you.鈥�
鈥淗ow many more children?鈥� one person yelled at Starmer was getting in his car. 鈥淥ur kids are dead and you鈥檙e leaving already?鈥�
Starmer told reporters earlier that he is determined to get a grip on high levels of knife crime but said it was not a day for politics.
Witnesses described hearing screams and seeing children covered in blood in the chaos outside the Hart Space, a community center that hosts everything from pregnancy workshops and meditation sessions to women鈥檚 boot camps.
Joel Verite, a window cleaner riding in a van on his lunch break, said his colleague slammed on the brakes and reversed to where a woman was hanging on the side of a car covered in blood.
鈥淪he just screamed at me: 鈥楬e鈥檚 killing kids over there. He鈥檚 killing kids over there,鈥欌�� Verite told Sky News.
The woman, who was on the phone with police, directed him to where the violence was unfolding and then collapsed. Verite said he ran in the direction she had pointed.
A woman honking the horn of her car caught his attention and he found her with five or six bloody children inside. The woman said she was trying to get the kids to safety.
鈥淚t was like a scene you鈥檇 see on a disaster film,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 explain to you how horrific it is what I saw.鈥�
He ran to the dance studio, where he was startled to lock eyes with a man in a hooded tracksuit holding a knife at the top of the stairs.
鈥淎ll I saw was a knife and I thought: 鈥楾here are more people in there,鈥� and I just wanted to hurt him so bad,鈥� Verite said. 鈥淏ut I was scared for myself and I wanted to help people. So I came outside and I was screaming because I knew where he was.鈥�
He said the first officer who arrived waited for backup and then they went up the stairs and tackled the suspect.
A group of Swift鈥檚 U.K. fans calling themselves 鈥淪wifties for Southport鈥� launched an online fundraiser to help families of the victims. It raised over 216,000 pounds ($277,000) a little over 24 hours.
Britain鈥檚 worst attack on children occurred in 1996, when 43-year-old Thomas Hamilton shot 16 kindergartners and their teacher dead in a school gymnasium in Dunblane, Scotland. The U.K. subsequently of almost all handguns.
Mass shootings and killings with firearms are exceptionally rare in Britain, where knives were used in about 40% of homicides in the year to March 2023.
Mass stabbings are also very rare, according to Iain Overton, executive director of Action on Armed Violence.
鈥淢ost knife attacks are one-on-one and personal 鈥� either domestic violence or gang related 鈥� so this tragedy is very unusual and, accordingly, garners lots of media interest,鈥� Overton said. "This offers no comfort to the grieving families, of course."
Jill Lawless And Brian Melley, The Associated Press
