The families of three little girls killed in a “ferocious” knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport have spoken of their “devastation”.
Alice DaSilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe died from their injuries after the mass stabbing at lunchtime on Monday.
“No words can describe the devastation that has hit our family as try to deal with the loss of our little girl Bebe,” her family said.
Alice’s family said: “Keep smiling and dancing like you love to do our princess, like we said before to you, you’re always our princess and no one would change that. Love from your hero Daddy and Mummy.”
Eight other children and two adults were injured in the attack at the Hart Space, a former industrial unit used to host classes for pregnant women and children in the seaside town north of Liverpool.
The incident is not being treated as terrorism, though counter-terrorism police in the North West have offered their support.
A 17-year-old boy from Banks, a village in nearby West Lancashire, has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. Police have said they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the attack.
Five of the children, aged between six and 11 years old, are in a critical condition with victims treated at hospitals across the North West, alongside two adults who bravely tried to protect them.
The adults who are seriously injured include Leanne Lucas, a former primary school teacher and yoga instructor who helped organise the Swift-themed class.
In a post since removed from Instagram, her friend wrote: “Please pray for Leanne. A beautiful, young, creative girl with so much passion for helping children. I just can’t believe it.”
It is believed Ms Lucas may have helped lead dozens of children at the class to safety outside while being attacked.
A card left at the scene reads: “Leanne your courage shows the beautiful person we all know you are from your school yoga sessions, our thoughts are with you.”
Another of the teachers, Heidi Barlow, attempted to hide children in a toilet to protect them, according to reports.
Joel Verite, a 25-year-old local windowcleaner and gym fanatic who stepped in to help during the attack, said: “It was like a scene from a disaster film.”
He described hearing a woman screaming: “He’s stabbing kids,” as he drove near the dance studio in Hart Street, Southport.
Recounting the scene to Sky News, he said: “As I’m running towards the door, there’s a car, there’s a woman in the car, and she’s screaming for me to come over.
“She’s got a child in the passenger seat, and then in the back there’s like four or five more kids, covered in blood.
“It was like a scene you’d see on a disaster film, honestly. I can’t even explain how horrific it was.”
Mr Verite said he locked eyes with the suspect inside the dance studio before the alleged attacker “scurried off”.
Hundreds of people were expected to gather for a vigil in Southport on Tuesday night to express their grief.
As further horrific details of the attack began to emerge, there was a sense of shock and disbelief in the town.
A couple who gave their names as Grant, 23, and Sarah, 27, choked back tears as they spoke to i at the scene. “It’s just so sad,” said Sarah.
“I’ve got a two-year-old son, as a father it hurt last night,” said Grant. “I moved up here from London to get away from stabbings.”
Sarah, a mental health support worker, said she has family, including younger children who live near to the scene of the attack, and she feared for their safety: “My phone was going non-stop last night making sure everyone was ok.”
The pair said they feel the Southport community remains “in shock”.
“It’s such a quiet place,” said Sarah. “It’s a hard situation you don’t know what to say. Or do. There’s a lot of speculation and rumour going around but it’s about waiting to get the right answer and the right response.”
Merseyside Police asked people to avoid speculation about the identity of the alleged attacker, who cannot be named due to his age.
An Arabic name which has been circulating on social media is not correct, the force added.
i revealed how police were monitoring the possibility of a far-right rally in Southport on Tuesday night, after fake news spread on social media that the 17-year-old unnamed suspect was an asylum seeker.
In fact, he was born in Cardiff, is of Rwandan heritage, and moved to West Lancashire from Cardiff in 2013.
A video obtained by ITV News showed a young man in a green-hooded jacket and face mask pacing up and down outside the family’s home before it was raided by police on Monday.
Sir Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper joined local politicians to lay flowers at the scene on Tuesday.
When asked whether she could provide more information, including whether the suspect was known to authorities, Ms Cooper said: “Merseyside Police are leading this extremely important and serious criminal investigation.
“This was a horrific attack and they need to be able to get on with that work, and they will provide us with updates.
“You’ll understand that others should not be speculating or commenting in advance of those updates and we really welcome the work of Merseyside Police, but it’s also important that they pursue every single angle of inquiry.”
The Prime Minister, who earlier met emergency crews in the town, said the attack “touches a nerve” with the whole country.
He said: “It’s awful to contemplate what happened. To hear for myself the experiences of the first responders, what they had to deal with, it’s really hard to take in for anybody.
“It’s not what any of them came to work for but, of course, they’re professionals and they deal with it.”
Asked about his “mission” to crack down on knife crime, Sir Keir said: “I am very worried about high levels of knife crime and I’m absolutely determined that my Government will get to grips with it.
“But today is not the time for politics. Today is the time to focus entirely on the families who are going through such pain and grief, and on the wider community, and, of course, a time to say thank you to those that responded yesterday, in the most awful of circumstances.”
Alice’s family is originally from the Portuguese island of Madeira.
“We can confirm that Alice Aguiar was among the victims,” a spokesman for the Portuguese foreign ministry confirmed to i.
“The Portuguese consul in Manchester is offering support to the family of Alice and will continue to do so.”
A GoFundMe page set up Benridge Care Homes in Southport said Alice’s mother Alexandra is an employee and her colleagues have been left “completely stunned”.
“We can’t even begin to imagine how the family feel,” they said.
Paying tribute to Alice, her aunt Carina Aguair wrote on Facebook: “Princess Alice… rest in peace… fly so high… and look at daddy and mummy who mourn your tender absence so much.”
Earlier she added: “You were just an innocent child… a happy little girl … smiling… who had a funny life ahead.”
Taylor Swift said she was “completely in shock” after the “horror” of the knife attack.
“These were just little kids at a dance class. I am at a complete loss for how to ever convey my sympathies to these families,” she said in a statement online.
Fans of the singer had raised more than £103,000 by Tuesday afternoon via their Swifties for Southport online fundraiser.
