SOUTHPORT, U.K. — Three children died after being attacked by a knife-wielding 17-year-old.
Eight children and two adults were also wounded in the attack in Southport, England, during a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga class, The Associated Press reported.
Swift said she was “completely in shock” after the attack, writing on an Instagram story, “These were just little kids at a dance class. I’m at a complete loss for how to ever convey my sympathies to these families.”
A 17-year-old boy was arrested moments after the attack on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, the AP reported.
The teen has not been charged and his name was not released. A name that had been shared on social media by users is incorrect, police said, according to USA Today.
The first two children, aged 6 and 7, died on Monday, and the third, a 9-year-old girl, died at a hospital on Tuesday, Merseyside Police said, according to CNN.
Five of the eight children still hospitalized are in critical condition as are the two adults.
“We believe that the adults who were injured were bravely trying to protect the children who were being attacked,” Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said, according to CNN.
Swift’s fans have raised more than $64,000 to help victims’ families and the hospital where they are being treated Reuters reported.
The attack is not being treated as terrorism-related. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the attack “horrendous” and that the country has been left “deeply shocked.”
King Charles III called it “utterly horrific” and he and Queen Camilla were “profoundly shocked.”
Prince William and Princess Catherine wrote, “As parents, we cannot begin to imagine what the families, friends and loved ones of those killed and injured in Southport today are going through.”