On Monday morning, children went to a Taylor Swift themed dance class. 3 of them never made it home.

Authorities are questioning a 17-year-old suspect arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and working to understand the motivation behind the attack. 

Constable Kennedy reported that the suspect entered the Southport community centre armed with a knife but provided no further details, only noting that the attack is not being treated as a terrorist incident. 

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

The scenes were said to resemble something "from a horror movie" as bloodied children ran from the attack just before noon on Monday.

UK Prime Minister Keir Stamer visited the scene of the crime to lay flowers and meet with the families of those affected. He left a note which read: "To the victims, families and people of Southport, our hearts are broken. There are no words for such profound loss. The nation's thoughts are with you."

The Prime Minister attended the vigil. Image: Getty.

King Charles III also shared a statement on Tuesday, writing: "My wife and I have been profoundly shocked to hear of the utterly horrific incident in Southport today."

A message from His Majesty The King following the tragic incident in Southport today. pic.twitter.com/4aUK8btptX

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) July 29, 2024

"We send our most heartfelt condolences, prayers and deepest sympathies to the families and loved ones of those who have so tragically lost their lives, and to all those affected by this truly appalling attack."

As the world comes to terms with what has happened, Bebe and Alice's respective families have paid tribute to their children.

"No words can describe the devastation that has hit our family as we try to deal with the loss of our little girl Bebe," Bebe's family said, in a tribute released by Merseyside Police.

Alice's parents, who are originally from the Madeira, Portugal, are devastated after losing their "princess".

"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," they said.

"Love from Your Hero Daddy and Mummy."

Image: Getty

Alice's relative Carina Aguiar also said in an emotional tribute: "Princess Alice. In this moment of great pain my soul hurts, my body hurts, my mind hurts. I have a lump in my throat.

"You were just an innocent child, a happy smiley girl with a bright life ahead of you which a despicable human being took away from you, without pity, for no reason."

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.

Britain's worst attack on children occurred in 1996, when 43-year-old Thomas Hamilton shot 16 kindergarteners and their teacher dead in a school gymnasium in Dunblane, Scotland.

The UK subsequently banned the private ownership of almost all handguns.

Mass shootings and killings with firearms are rare in Britain, where knives were used in about 40 per cent of homicides in the year to March 2023.

This isn’t the first time an attack in the northwest of England has shocked the world. In 2017, a suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena killed 22 people and injured over 100 others.  

Feature Image: Merseyside Police.

-With AAP