LONDON (AP) — A stabbing at a children's dance class in northwest England on Monday killed two children and injured nine other people, police said. A 17-year-old boy was arrested and a knife seized after the bloody attack, police said.
A witness described seeing bloodied children running from a community center where a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga event for children aged about 6 to 11 was taking place in Southport, a seaside town near Liverpool. An advertisement for the event promised “a morning of Taylor Swift-themed yoga, dance and bracelet making.”
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LONDON (AP) — A stabbing at a children's dance class in northwest England on Monday killed two children and injured nine other people, police said. A 17-year-old boy was arrested and a knife seized after the bloody attack, police said.
Police work at the scene in Southport, England, where a man has been detained and a knife has been seized after a number of people were injured in a reported stabbing, Monday July 29, 2024. (James Speakman/PA via AP)
A police scenes of crime officer (SOCO) works at the scene in Southport, Merseyside, where a man has been detained and a knife has been seized after a number of people were injured in a reported stabbing, Monday July 29, 2024. (James Speakman/PA via AP)
Police secure the area, where a man has been detained and a knife has been seized after a number of people were injured in a reported stabbing, in Southport, Merseyside, England, Monday July 29, 2024. (James Speakman/PA via AP)
A police scenes of crime officer (SOCO) works at the scene in Southport, Merseyside, where a man has been detained and a knife has been seized after a number of people were injured in a reported stabbing, Monday July 29, 2024. (James Speakman/PA via AP)
Emergency services work at the scene in Southport, Merseyside, where a man has been detained and a knife has been seized after a number of people were injured in a reported stabbing, Monday July 29, 2024. (James Speakman/PA via AP)
Police and emergency services arrive at the site where a man has been detained and a knife has been seized after a number of people were injured in a reported stabbing, in Southport, Merseyside, England, Monday July 29, 2024. (James Speakman/PA via AP)
Police secure the area, where a man has been detained and a knife has been seized after a number of people were injured in a reported stabbing, in Southport, Merseyside, England, Monday July 29, 2024. (James Speakman/PA via AP)
Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the attack “horrendous and deeply shocking.”
Merseyside Police said officers were called at about noon to an address in Southport, a seaside town of about 100,000 people near Liverpool. It called it a “major incident” but said there was no wider threat to the public.
Detectives were not treating the attack as terror-related, the force said.
The suspect, who has not been identified, lived in a village about 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the site of the attack, police said.
The North West Ambulance Service said medics treated eight people with stab injuries. The injured were taken to local hospitals, including a children's hospital.
Bare Varathan, who owns a shop down the street, said he saw between seven and 10 bleeding children running from the Hart Space, a community hub that offers classes for expectant mothers, babies and children.
“They had been stabbed here, here, here, everywhere," he said, indicating the neck, back and chest. “They were all aged about 10. One of them was really seriously injured."
Ryan Carney, who lives with his mother in the street, said his mother saw emergency workers carrying children “covered in red, covered in blood. She said she could see the stab wounds in the backs of the children.”
“All this stuff never really happens around here," he said. “You hear of it, stabbings and stuff like that in major cities, your Manchesters, your Londons. This is sunny Southport. That’s what people call it. The sun’s out. It’s a lovely place to be.”
Britain’s worst attack on children occurred in 1996, when 43-year-old Thomas Hamilton shot 16 kindergarten pupils and their teacher dead in a school gymnasium in Dunblane, Scotland. The U.K. subsequently banned the private ownership of almost all handguns.
Mass shootings and murders with firearms are rare in Britain. where knives were used in about 40% of homicides in the year to March 2023. Several headline-grabbing attacks and a recent rise in knife crime have stoked anxieties and led to calls for the government to do more to clamp down on bladed weapons.
Emergency services work at the scene in Southport, England, where a man has been detained and a knife has been seized after a number of people were injured in a reported stabbing, Monday July 29, 2024. (James Speakman/PA via AP)
Police work at the scene in Southport, England, where a man has been detained and a knife has been seized after a number of people were injured in a reported stabbing, Monday July 29, 2024. (James Speakman/PA via AP)
A police scenes of crime officer (SOCO) works at the scene in Southport, Merseyside, where a man has been detained and a knife has been seized after a number of people were injured in a reported stabbing, Monday July 29, 2024. (James Speakman/PA via AP)
Police secure the area, where a man has been detained and a knife has been seized after a number of people were injured in a reported stabbing, in Southport, Merseyside, England, Monday July 29, 2024. (James Speakman/PA via AP)
A police scenes of crime officer (SOCO) works at the scene in Southport, Merseyside, where a man has been detained and a knife has been seized after a number of people were injured in a reported stabbing, Monday July 29, 2024. (James Speakman/PA via AP)
Emergency services work at the scene in Southport, Merseyside, where a man has been detained and a knife has been seized after a number of people were injured in a reported stabbing, Monday July 29, 2024. (James Speakman/PA via AP)
Police and emergency services arrive at the site where a man has been detained and a knife has been seized after a number of people were injured in a reported stabbing, in Southport, Merseyside, England, Monday July 29, 2024. (James Speakman/PA via AP)
Police secure the area, where a man has been detained and a knife has been seized after a number of people were injured in a reported stabbing, in Southport, Merseyside, England, Monday July 29, 2024. (James Speakman/PA via AP)
They are no-names no longer.
In a process nearly a year in the making, the Professional Women’s Hockey League on Monday unveiled the nicknames and logos for each of its six franchises entering its second season.
There’s a Fleet sailing into Boston, a Frost settling in Minnesota and Sirens in New York. For the teams north of the border, there will be Victoire in Montreal, a Charge in Ottawa and the wielding of Sceptres — yes, the Canadian spelling — in Toronto.
The long-anticipated names and logos arrive after time constraints — the league was founded in late June 2023 and began play on Jan. 1 — led to the PWHL spending its inaugural season referring to each team with a PWHL prefix, such as PWHL Minnesota, which won the first Walter Cup championship in May.
It was around that time when league executives Amy Scheer and Kanan Bhatt-Shaw officially signed off on the results in meeting a 10-month deadline to have the names and logos delivered to the PWHL’s suppliers to be printed in time for Season 2, set to open in early December.
“Daunting for sure, but an absolute labor of love,” Scheer, the league vice president of business operations, told The Associated Press. “I think anybody who has worked in sports or is a marketer or brand person would look at this as an opportunity of a lifetime.”
Just don’t ask them to pick a favorite.
“I love all my children equally,” Scheer said with a laugh.
“I’m going to echo that,” added Bhatt-Shaw, VP of brand and marketing. “In real life, I only have one child, and it feels really nice to have seven now.”
Calling the process both stressful and rewarding, the two were tasked with filtering through hundreds of possible names — many of which were eliminated because the PWHL was unable to obtain rights holdings on both sides of the border — designing the logos and finding the right fit to capture the spirit of each market.
Another caveat was carrying over each team’s color schemes from Year 1 for continuity so fans who purchased previous merchandise didn’t look out of place.
As for the nicknames, Scheer and Bhatt-Shaw believe they speak for themselves.
__ The Fleet represents Boston's maritime tradition, with a logo featuring a forward-leaning “B” in the shape of an anchor.
__ The Minnesota Frost, the PWHL said, “embodies the State of Hockey’s deep-rooted love for the ice,” with the “F” logo featuring sharp icicle-like points.
__ The Victoire name pays tribute to the team’s French-Canadian home, with the logo featuring a blue “M” for Montreal and a fleur-de-lis, a national symbol of Quebec.
__ The Sirens are an ode to the New York's vibrant sights and sounds, and alluding to the goal horn, while the logo features the angular design of the letters “NY” to portray the Big Apple’s skyline.
__ The Ottawa Charge reflects the Canadian capital’s motto, “Advance — Ottawa — En Avant,” with a logo featuring a large unfinished letter “O,” that also resembles the letter “C.”
__ The Sceptres, the PWHL said, “embody Toronto’s regal history and commanding presence,” and reflect the Ontario capital also being known as the Queen City. The logo features a large scepter with the letters “T” and “S” incorporated into the handle.
“To now have an identity and have that much more purposefulness, being in Boston and the thoughtfulness that went behind the design and names, we can really attach to as well as fans,” Boston captain Hilary Knight said during a Zoom call. "Whenever you go into a huddle and you're cheering for something, it's nice to be able to name it.”
Montreal captain Marie-Philip Poulin said Victoire has always been the mindset, and now it's something she and her teammates and fans can rally around. Poulin was particularly impressed by the attention to detail included in the logo, and how the PWHL went with a French name that is easily recognizable in English.
“It's a super-exciting day not only for the players to finally be able to say that we play on the Sceptres. It’s a lot easier to say than `PWHL Toronto,′” Toronto captain Blayre Turnbull said. "But I think in terms of where the league's at, and how successful it was last year without any names or logos to thinking what the future holds now."
The PWHL worked with New York City-based creative agency Flower Shop to assist in the process. Scheer and Bhatt-Shaw also bounced ideas off a group of PWHL employees, who would vote on potential names, and the two spent last season consulting with fans to get a feel for each market.
Proud and connected as they are of each name and logo, both are aware their choices will spur debate — and criticism — among fans.
“Everybody’s going to sit behind their computers and they’re going to type good, bad and ugly. And that’s OK,” Scheer said. “I feel the process we went through was very thorough. We feel very confident that we’ve got six great names that are bold, they’re confident, they’re strong, competitive and, I think, they resonate with the markets that they’re in.”
She took exception when informed the Fleet “B” logo could also resemble a “W” when turned on its side in what some might perceive as an homage to the NHL's former Hartford Whalers.
“That `B’ is a sideways anchor and only a sideways anchor,” Scheer said.
NOTES: Jersey designs are scheduled to be unveiled by early November. ... Because of limited supply, Scheer doesn't expect authentic jerseys to be available to the public until Season 3. ... To prevent potential leaks of the names and logos, the PWHL had every person involved in the process sign non-disclosure agreements, Scheer said.
AP women’s hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey
This image released by the PWHL shows the new logo for the Toronto Sceptres hockey team on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (PWHL via AP)
This image released by the PWHL shows the new logo for the Toronto Sceptres hockey team on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (PWHL via AP)
This image released by the PWHL shows the new logo for the Ottawa Charge hockey team on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (PWHL via AP)
This image released by the PWHL shows the new logo for the Ottawa Charge hockey team on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (PWHL via AP)
This image released by the PWHL shows the new logo for the New York Sirens hockey team on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (PWHL via AP)
This image released by the PWHL shows the new logo for the New York Sirens hockey team on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (PWHL via AP)
This image released by the PWHL shows the new logo for the Montréal Victoire hockey team on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (PWHL via AP)
This image released by the PWHL shows the new logo for the Montréal Victoire hockey team on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (PWHL via AP)
This image released by the PWHL shows the new logo for the Minnesota Frost hockey team on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (PWHL via AP)
This image released by the PWHL shows the new logo for the Minnesota Frost hockey team on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (PWHL via AP)
This image released by the PWHL shows the new logo for the Boston Fleet hockey team on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (PWHL via AP)
This image released by the PWHL shows the new logo for the Boston Fleet hockey team on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (PWHL via AP)
This image released by the PWHL shows the new logos for the six hockey teams on Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (PWHL via AP)
