Taylor Swift Responds After Children Are Stabbed at Dance Class Bearing Her Name

A terrible crime shook the United Kingdom yesterday. A group of very young girls was subjected to a horrific knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga class in the seaside town of Southport.

Two children died yesterday as a result of the attack and a third dide today, July 30. Two adults and five children currently remain in a critical condition in hospital. The suspect, a 17-year-old boy, is currently in custody.

Taylor Swift herself has now made a statement about the tragedy. “The horror of yesterday’s attack in Southport is washing over me continuously. I’m just completely in shock…” she wrote on Instagram Stories. “The loss of life and innocence, and the horrendous trauma inflicted on everyone who was there, the families and first responders.”

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

Swift’s sentiments are echoed by people all over Britain today. Mass stabbings are uncommon in the country, especially against children, so a particular horror has taken hold of Southport and the surrounding areas. Nurseries across the U.K. are reportedly working on improving their security procedures in the wake of the attack.

It remains to be seen what motive the attacker had for killing innocent girls—if he had a motive at all beyond cruelty. The police have stated that they do not believe the attack was related to terrorism.

Some Swift fans, upon hearing the news, have decided to raise money for the victims and their families. One fundraiser has already received more than £100,000 for the Alder Hey children’s charity, Alder Hey Children’s Hospital being where victims of the attack have been treated. Part of the money will go towards funeral costs for the girls who have died.

“What compelled us was we were thinking about the fact that these families are going through just unimaginable hell right now,” fundraiser organizer and Swift fan Cristina Jones told the PA news agency. “I firmly believe there’s nothing we can do to make the families feel better because of what they’re going through right now, but if we’ve taken some sort of burden from them, financial or whatever, it’s nice to know that we’ve done what we can do.”