Taylor Swift says she is 'in shock' after 2 children died in an attack on a UK dance class

LONDON (AP) — Police were questioning a suspect and working Tuesday to understand what motivated a 17-year-old boy to attack children at a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga class, leaving two dead and six in critical condition.

A total of nine children and two adults were hurt in the rampage in Southport in northwest England. Both adults and six of the children were in critical condition in local hospitals.

Swift said she was “completely in shock” and still taking in “the horror” of the event.

“These were just little kids at a dance class,” she wrote on Instagram. “I am at a complete loss for how to ever convey my sympathies to these families.”

A 17-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.

Local people left flowers and stuffed animals in tribute at a police cordon on the street lined with brick houses in the seaside resort near Liverpool — nicknamed “sunny Southport” — whose beach and pier attract vacationers from across northwest England.

Witnesses described scenes “from a horror movie” as bloodied children ran from the attack just before noon on Monday. The suspect was arrested soon after on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. Police said he was born in Cardiff, Wales and had lived for years in a village about 3 miles (5 kilometers) from Southport. He has not yet been charged.

Police said detectives are not treating Monday’s attack as terror-related and they are not looking for any other suspects.

“We believe the adults who were injured were bravely trying to protect the children who were being attacked,” Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said.

It is the latest shocking attack in a country where a recent rise in knife crime has stoked anxieties and led to calls for the government to do more to clamp down on bladed weapons.

Witnesses described hearing screams and seeing children covered in blood emerging from the Hart Space, a community center that hosts everything from pregnancy workshops and meditation sessions to women’s boot camps.

The attack happened during a Taylor Swift-themed yoga and dance workshop for children aged about 6 to 11.

“They were in the road, running from the nursery,” said Bare Varathan,