Emergency services were called to a “major,” “critical” incident in the English seaside town of Southport on Monday, after reports of a mass stabbing at 11:50 AM. Merseyside Police initially reported armed police had detained “a male” at “a property” and seized a knife, with “no wider threat to the public,” releasing no suspect details.
Children are believed to be among at least 11 casualties, two of whom have been declared dead. The rest have been transported to three hospitals, some by air ambulance, including Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. Alder Hey asked parents not to bring their children to hospital unless they require urgent care, with their resources being under strain in the wake of the stabbings.
Unconfirmed eyewitness reports indicate the stabbings took place at a nursery. Bare Varathan, who runs a local corner store, says he “saw seven to ten kids outside the nursery.”
“They were injured, bleeding. They were in the road, running from the nursery,” he said, indicating they had been stabbed all over their bodies, including the back, neck, and chest.
“Somebody told me he had arrived in a taxi and had a knife,” Varathan said of the suspect.
This story is developing…
