Merseyside Police said two adults who were “bravely trying to protect the children” were also stabbed and are in a critical condition – with a 17-year-old boy in custody after being arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.
Two children have been killed and nine others are injured after a knife attack in Southport, north of Liverpool.
Warning: This article contains descriptions some readers may find distressing.
All of the nine children who were injured were stabbed and six are in a critical condition.
Two adults are also in a critical condition. Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said: “We believe that the adults who were injured were bravely trying to protect the children who were being attacked.”
The King and Queen are among those who have sent their “deepest sympathies” to the families of those affected.
A 17-year-old boy from Banks in Lancashire, born in Cardiff in Wales, has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.
Police were called to reports of a knife attack at an address in Southport at 11.47am on Monday morning.
Chief Constable Kennedy said when officers arrived they were “shocked to find” several children had been “subjected to a ferocious attack and had suffered serious injuries”.
She added: “It is understood that the children were attending a Taylor Swift event at a dance school when the offender, armed with a knife, walked into the premises and started to attack the children inside.”
The chief constable said the suspect’s motive is unclear at this early stage but the investigation is not being treated as terror-related.
Paramedics encounter ‘devastating scene’
Sky News understands the stabbings took place at a community centre called Hart Space, often used for mother and baby classes, on Hart Street in the Merseyside town.
A poster shows 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 the centre at the time of the attack.
Specialist officers are supporting the families of the children who were killed and those who were injured, Chief Constable Kennedy has said.