Jawad Iqbal Jawad Iqbal

The horror of the Southport knife attack

Police officers stand behind a cordon following the knife attack in Southport (Getty)

Two children have died and nine have been injured, six critically, after a series of stabbings in Southport, Merseyside. Two adults are also in a critical condition – they were apparently injured trying to protect the children from their attacker. A 17-year old boy, from the nearby village of Banks in Lancashire, remains in custody after being arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.

A witness described it as ‘the worst thing I’ve ever seen in my life’

The stabbings took place at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on Monday lunchtime. A man, wearing a mask and armed with a knife, entered the venue and started to repeatedly stab child after child. There are thought to have been around 25 children – aged between six and 11 – taking part in the dance workshop. The class was being run by two teachers and was due to finish at noon, just ten minutes after the stabbings started at 11.

Written by
Jawad Iqbal

Jawad Iqbal is a broadcaster and ex-television news executive. Jawad is a former Visiting Senior Fellow in the Institute of Global Affairs at the LSE

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