刃物でダンス教室襲撃、子ども２人死亡 １７歳少年を逮捕 英

【サウスポートＡＦＰ＝時事】英イングランド北西部サウスポートで２９日、刃物を持った１７歳の少年がダンス教室を襲撃し、子ども２人が刺されて死亡した。負傷者１１人のうち子ども６人、大人２人が重体となっている。（写真は、英イングランド・サウスポートで、刃物による襲撃事件が起きた現場付近で警備を行う警察官）
　マージーサイド警察は、少年を殺人および殺人未遂容疑で逮捕した。
　セレーナ・ケネディ警察署長は、テロとの関連はないとみており、動機は不明だと語った。
　徒歩でやって来たとみられる少年は、教室にいた子どもらを刃物で襲い始め、大人が子どもらを守ろうとした。負傷した全員が刺されていたという。
　正午前に通報を受けて現場に駆け付けた武装警官が少年の身柄を拘束し、刃物を押収した。
　ダンス教室では、米人気歌手テイラー・スウィフトさんをテーマにした子ども向けのイベントが開かれていた。
　キア・スターマー首相は記者会見で、「英国中が大変な衝撃を受けている」とし、「犠牲者と家族、友人、そして地元の方々に哀悼の意を表する。皆さんの悲しみは計り知れない」と述べた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/07/30-18:34）

An attacker with a knife killed two children and wounded 11 other people, including six youths in critical condition, at a dance class in northern England on Monday, police said.
A 17-year-old male has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder in Southport, near Liverpool in northwest England, in an attack that also left two adults with critical injuries, Merseyside Police said.
Police chief Serena Kennedy said that the attack was not being treated as terror-related, and that the attacker's motivation was unclear.
All of those injured had been stabbed, she added.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer told the media that the events today are just truly awful, the whole country is deeply shocked.
Our thoughts and condolences are with the victims, families, friends and wider community. It is almost impossible to imagine the grief, he said.
- 'Can't imagine the pain' -
Police were called to a property that was hosting a Taylor Swift-themed dance class for young children shortly before midday (1100 GMT), Kennedy said.
Officers were shocked to find that multiple people, many of whom were children, had been subjected to a ferocious attack, she said.
The suspect apparently walked in from the street and started to attack the children, while adults in the room tried to protect them, Kennedy said.
Armed officers arrived and detained the suspect and seized a knife.
King Charles III offered his most heartfelt condolences, prayers and deepest sympathies in a statement, calling the incident utterly horrific.
Prince William and his wife Katherine posted on X that 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, calling it a heinous attack.
The North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) said it treated 11 casualties with stab injuries at the scene, who were then taken by ambulance and helicopter to Alder Hey Children's Hospital and other hospitals in the area.
Local business owner Colin Parry, one of the people who called police, told the Press Association news agency that he believed several young girls had been stabbed.
Bare Varathan, who owns a local shop, told PA he saw seven to 10 kids who were injured, bleeding, adding that he saw they had been stabbed.
The suspect is in custody and enquiries are ongoing to establish the motive for this tragic incident, police said.
The area where the incident took place is in a quiet neighbourhood of residential streets.
Some residents who were allowed to come out from the police cordon sealing it off looked shocked, according to an AFP reporter at the scene.
It's not what you expect to see in Southport, one man who lives in an adjoining street, who did not wish to give his name, told AFP.