Teen arrested after stabbing incident in UK's Southport; two children killed

British police on Monday (July 29) arrested a 17-year-old after a "major incident" in Southport, northwest England, about 80 km from Manchester where tensions are rife after a police person was seen kicking a Muslim man at the airport last week.

Several casualties are being reported in Monday's stabbing incident. A knife has been seized by the police and there appears to be no wider threat to the public.

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Later during the day, it emerged that at least eight people, including two children, werestabbed in the incident.

North West ambulance service said it had so far treated eight patients with stab injuries, who weretaken to three hospitals in the are, including theAlder Hey children’s hospital, Aintree university hospital and Southport and Formby hospital.

Alder Hey children’s hospital urged the parents not to bring their children to the emergency department unless it was urgent, British media reports said.

The home secretary, Yvette Cooper,said she is "deeply concerned" over the stabbing incident.

At the time of filing this report, the motivation behind the attack"remains unclear", according to police.

Merseyside police chief constable Serena Kennedy told a press conference: "The investigation is at its early stages and the motivation for the incident remains unclear."

"However, Counter-Terrorism Police North-West have offered their support to Merseyside police as the full circumstances of what has happened are being established."

"At this moment in time, the investigation is not being treated as terrorist-related."

(With inputs from agencies)