UK: Teenager injures several children in knife attack

WEB DESK: Merseyside Police in England say a 17-year-old male is in custody and will be questioned. At least eight people, some of them children, were wounded in the attack in Southport.

A 17-year-old is suspected of attacking several people with a knife early on Monday in the coastal town of Southport in northwest England, near Liverpool.

Merseyside Police said in a statement that the suspect was a 17-year-old from the nearby village of Banks, that he had been arrested and “will be questioned about the incident.”

Police also said the attack was not being treated as terror-related and that they were not seeking anyone else in connection with the crime.

They said investigations were ongoing and it was too soon to comment on a motive.

“We would urge people not to speculate while the investigation is ongoing,” police said.

What we know about the attack so far

At least eight people, some of them children, were injured in the stabbing attack.

The North West Ambulance Service said its medics treated eight people and took some of them to local children’s hospitals.

Police said they were called to a property just before noon local time to reports of a stabbing, initially describing the attack as a “major incident.”

A witness said they saw children running from a local community centre that was holding a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga event for children.

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Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the attack “horrendous and deeply shocking.”