'Worst thing I’ve ever seen' - witnesses describe Southport attack

 

Warning – this article contains details some may find distressing.

Eyewitnesses have spoken of horrific scenes in the aftermath of the Southport attack, with one describing it as the "worst thing I’ve seen in my life".

Two children died and nine suffered critical injuries in a knife attack on a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on Monday, prompting a local children's hospital to declare a major incident. Two adults were also critically injured.

Colin Parry, owner of Masters Vehicle Body Repairs, which is next to where the workshop was being held, told BBC 5Live he was first aware of a commotion because a young man in a face mask was refusing to pay a taxi driver.

He said he and a customer confronted the man but that he asked them, "What are you going to do?", and walked off.

Mr Parry said he went back to work but then received a call from an employee who had gone to the building next door because he heard children screaming, "and not like a normal play scream".

"We all ran out and there's young kids, all bleeding," Mr Parry said.

He said many of the children were then ushered into a nearby home and that the scene outside was "mayhem".

“It was the worst thing I’ve seen ever in my life,” he said.

"Why? Why would you do these things to these kids? It's horrific."

Mr Parry also told the PA news agency that he had heard mothers arriving on the street "screaming" and that it was "like a scene from a horror movie".

Multiple people reported seeing several young children bleeding in the road after being stabbed.

Photos from the scene after the attack showed a police cordon on the street as well as large numbers of emergency service vehicles and personnel.

Forensic workers could also be seen in white hazmat suits.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz7ez3nrr05o