A third child has died in Southport.

[Conniebygaslight]

Incomprehensible and senseless. Absolutely devastating. 💔💔💔

@Twistybranch The police statement confirms he was born in Cardiff, that's not conflicting reports.

just seen on news got a taxi straigt there to stab those kids

rip little ones

How can we tackle the horrific tide of violence against women and girls by men? Is there any country in the world that has managed to have some success in tackling this appalling tide of viciousness? I’m also reading about the crossbow victims atm. What is wrong with men? Sure not all men. But too many!

"I don't think it's necessarily the case that the murderer was born in Cardiff"

Personally, I would go with the police until proved otherwise.

Oh is this Emma person why my thread yesterday got deleted?

Note that the racist comments are often from men. It's to distract you from that fact that they are almost always men. I want to protest. I want us all to scream from the rooftops that they need to deal with men. The violence against us is CONSTANT. I'm fucking sick of it.

How can a child of 17, in this country, be brainwashed into doing this? HOW?

It's just awful.

And there's no way to make things like that more secure. I chaired a playscheme for years and we had locked doors during the session, but at pick up they have to be open at some point.

It's just awful that there's such a vulnerability for anyone really in the midst of such a normal daily activity and there's not really any way of making it physically safer.

There are no conflicting stories from legitimate news sources. UK Birth records, passport records, and school UPN numbers are very easy to track down when authorities suspect or need to eliminate terrorism as a motive.

In amongst all the horror of today, I cannot believe Sky News is interviewing a local guy - a former headteacher - who is wearing an "Overlook Hotel" t shirt. This is the hotel in The Shining. If you aren't familiar, in the film a guy goes mad and attacks people around him with axes and knives. I assume he is wearing the t shirt unthinkingly but I would have expected one of the journalists to pick up the reference and get him to cover the t shirt.

Without a trial you have no chance to understand and affect change. You still might not with a trial but at least it provides an opportunity for the parents to gain some insight. I don't think shooting on the spot once they're unarmed is appropriate

born in cardiff also an older broter born here

the parents are from rwanda

Grooming etc. targeting particularly boys and young men is rife and needs to be tackled. Look for instance at the impact of influencers like Andrew Tate.

Also needing tacked is the issue of untreated mental health crisis, again particularly in boys and young men. Not infrequently it manifests in violence against both themselves and others.

What's the evidence that he's been brainwashed?

He arrived in Lancashire aged 6, from Wales.

How do you know he was brainwashed?

I suspect at this point, but do not know, that it is more likely that he was having a psychotic episode.

We don't know anything for certain about the attacker's motive.

What we do know is that the worst thing imaginable has happened to these children and their families.

The police will deal with the attacker, the public are better channeling sympathy to those who have been affected.

Heartbreaking.

Will be holding my 6 year old a little bit tighter tonight.

You think the Daily Mail is correct and Merseyside police are wrong? The police statement yesterday said that the suspect was born in Cardiff.

The DM has its own agenda, doesn't it?

Absolutely heartbreaking news poor poor families.

Leanne, the yoga teacher should be applauded for her bravery.

I think also important to point out that not all men are monsters. John Hayes, a 63 year old man, heard screams from his office and went to help. He was injured tackling the knife man and trying to protect the children.

I will be very very surprised if someone who did this had absolutely no history of behaviour problems before this.

Only got to this post and NRTFT but one of the things we could do is properly fund schools and early intervention with boys (and some girls too) that exhibit aggressive tendancies. At the moment schools are in crisis mode. Not enough school places for disturbed children in PRUs. https://schoolsweek.co.uk/the-excluded-children-with-nowhere-to-go/

At the moment all that happens in the more extreme cases in schools is exclusion - often what the child wants - and if the parents aren't exceptionally resilient and resourceful they can fall off the radar if there aren't places in PRUs and end up being 'taught' online - and presumably spending more and more time online with perhaps very little restriction on what they're viewing (if parents have to work etc).

There needs also to be some degree of punishment for early transgressions so children understand that there will be unpleasant consequences. Removal of mobile devices, for example. I know a lot of people don't agree with this, but I think it would end up saving a lot of children. Of course in an ideal world, each child would have a tailored educational plan and 1 to 1 support but until that mythical situation exists, sanctions are better than letting them go further down a bad road.

And it's reflected in the adult population too - at the moment in this country violent men get away with a lot before they're finally locked up. See Wayne Couzens - reported for flashing before he killed Sarah Everard and the police did nothing, if they had taken action on this crime, Sarah could well be alive today. We need a societal culture where we don't allow the police to overlook crimes like this. Zero tolerance around aggressive behaviour in schools, more places in PRUs. There's a lot that could be done, none of it is easy though.

17 years old! That’s what I can’t comprehend. How/why do you decide to get a knife, travel to the location, and actively stab people. One if the adults stabbed was trying to stop him. Brave lady.

Just read that A Swifty fan club has raised thousands of pounds for the Alder Hey hospital and families.

I think there should be a public inquiry into how this boy came to be a) so acutely mentally unwell without any professional taking action, and b) in possession of a lethal weapon.

Presumably he has been through state schooling, had contact with GPs etc? The fact that he wasn't already in hospital is an indictment of the parlous state of public services. If you starve the schools and the health system to the point where they can't provide the basics, this is what happens.

And no, I'm not making excuses for what this boy has done, not at all. He should be locked up in a secure hospital and never come out. But this didn't happen in a vacuum, as anyone who has tried to get help for someone with acute mental illness will know.

She really should.

I read also that Heidi, the other teacher attacked, has not long returned to work following maternity leave.

The big problem with knife crime is that it’s possible to inflict unimaginable harm with something routinely found in the kitchen drawer. It’s much harder to police than for example guns.

We don’t know if it is mental illness. Some cases like the two sisters that were stabbed in a London park, the perpetrator was seriously mentally ill. But not all those that commit such crimes are