London — Britain’s King Charles III visited the English town of Southport on Tuesday to meet survivors and the families of victims of the knife attack that left three young girls dead and 10 others wounded at a Taylor Swift-themed children’s dance class last month. The monarch’s visit came just a day after the pop icon herself met two of the young survivors backstage at one of her concerts in London.
King Charles arrived in Southport and was greeted by hundreds of the seaside town’s residents as he visited a floral tribute to the victims of the attack.
“His Majesty The King will travel to Southport to express his continued support for those affected by the 29th July attack and the riot which followed in the town, and to thank frontline emergency staff for their ongoing work serving local people,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement earlier. “The meeting will include some of the surviving children who were present at the Hart Space Community Centre, and their families.”
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Three young girls Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9, were killed in the attack. The stabbing rocked the country and sparked riots led by far-right groups across England. The unrest was fueled by widespread disinformation spread on social media about the attacker’s identity in the wake of the attack.
A 17-year-old male was arrested and faces charges of both attempted murder and murder. CBS News partner network BBC News reported that the suspect was born in Cardiff, Wales, and moved to the Southport area in 2013.
On Monday, Swift met two girls who were wounded in the attack backstage at her concert in London’s Wembley Stadium. A TikTok montage posted by the girls’ mother, Sami Foster, of photos showing her daughters meeting the popstar, along with Swift’s own mother Andrea, quickly went viral.
Swift met the family wearing the one-piece costume that has become synonymous with her record-breaking “Eras” concert tour. In one of the photos, one of the young girls appears to have a bandage on her forearm as she poses with the singer.
The post showing Foster’s daughters Hope and Autumn with Swift was captioned: “You drew stars around my scars,” a reference to lyrics in Swift’s song “Cardigan.”
Swift had expressed shock at the attack last month. In a statement posted on her Instagram account in July, she expressed “horror” at “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,” the post said. “I am at a complete loss for how to ever convey my sympathies to these families.”