Good Morning Britain’s Ed Balls and Ranvir Singh were forced to hold back tears as they discussed the tragic stabbings in Southport on Wednesday’s show.
Three children died in the attack, which took place during a Taylor Swift dance class: Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine. Five children and two adults remain in critical condition.
A 17-year-old boy, originally from Cardiff but now living in the nearby Lancashire village of Banks, remains in custody, accused of murder and attempted murder.
Ranvir, 46, and Ed, 57, moved from their usual chairs at the desk to a standing position in front of the screen on GMB.
They then read the heartbreaking stories of the families of the deceased children.
Good Morning Britain’s Ed Balls and Ranvir Singh were left crying as they discussed the tragic stabbings in Southport on Wednesday’s show
Three children died in the attack that took place during a Taylor Swift dance class: Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine. Five children and two adults remain in critical condition
A visibly emotional Ranvir then stuttered, “It’s hard to talk,” as Ed let out a deep sigh.
In a later segment of the show, local mothers were asked for their reactions to the shocking violence.
One of them admitted that she hosted a similar Taylor Swift-themed workshop where children could dance and make friendship bracelets for each other.
Taylor Swift fans are known for exchanging friendship bracelets during shows and concerts.
Ed held back tears as he responded to the interview by saying: ‘That reference to making bracelets… young girls in a Taylor Swift dance club at the start of the school holidays, making friendship bracelets.
“Which of course happens at concerts that they give to strangers. And then a stranger comes into the room and there’s destruction. It’s just shocking.”
Ranvir paid an emotional tribute to the three girls as their pictures were shown on a big screen in the GMB studios. He told viewers: ‘Good morning Britain, these are the pictures of innocent lives taken far too soon.’
The event comes after the mother of the seven-year-old girl killed in the Southport knife shooting called for an end to violence after 39 police officers were injured in a night of rioting.
On GMB, Ranvir, 46, and Ed, 57, moved from their usual chairs at the desk to stand in front of the screen and read out some emotional tributes
Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, was one of the victims of a knife attack at a dance party in Southport
She was killed along with six-year-old Bebe King (left) and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar (right)
Elsie Dot Stancombe was murdered along with six-year-old Bebe King and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar in a horrific stabbing attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop on Monday.
And after a peaceful vigil last night, where thousands of mourners gathered to remember those who lost their lives, violent criminals were accused of “disrespecting a city in mourning.”
Gangs of street urchins, many believed to be from outside Southport, set fire to a police van, injuring 39 officers and three dogs, 27 of whom required hospital treatment.
As the community rallied against the violence, Jenni Stancombe, the mother of little Elsie, took to social media to plead for an end to the violence.
She said: ‘This is all I will write, but please stop the violence in Southport tonight.
“The police have behaved heroically over the past 24 hours and we and they don’t need this.”
Eight other children suffered stab wounds in the massacre, five are in critical condition, along with two women who were also seriously injured as they bravely tried to save the children.
And today, the coastal community rallied to restore order to their quiet streets. Through local Facebook groups, some offered their rooms to those in need of a safe place, while others organized cleanup crews to clean up the mess from the night before.
Builders offered their services for free to rebuild walls that had been demolished after thugs threw rubble at police cars, while others praised the brave officers on social media.
Southport Labour MP Patrick Hurley reflected on the vigil held in the town on Tuesday night for the victims of Monday’s knife attack, saying the community was “in shock” and “in mourning” after the deaths of three girls.
He condemned the “drunken thugs” who threw stones at a mosque and said the thugs had taken the train and used the tragic deaths “for their own political ends”.
Speaking on the Today programme he said: ‘These were criminals who got on the train, these were not people from Southport.
‘They used Monday’s horrific incident, the death of three small children, for their own political ends and to attack the very same aid workers and police officers who were at the scene on Monday and were pelted with stones by these criminals the following day.
“There is no other way to describe this than to say it is utterly reprehensible and we must identify these people and ensure that the law is fully applied against them.”
He continued: ‘These people show absolutely no respect for the families of the dead and injured children and for the city.’
He continued: ‘Even if this boy, the 17-year-old, turns out to be Muslim, that does not under any circumstances justify an attack on a mosque by anyone, especially not by these drunken thugs who burst into the city last night with the intention of causing trouble.
‘We all have to stand up to this and Southport will not stand for this. Southport will unite against this kind of thing.’
Merseyside Police Chief Emily Spurrell said there was a “strong feeling” that members of the English Defence League had used the Southport stabbing to “stir up hatred”.
The prime minister and interior minister joined police chiefs in condemning the “sickening” violence, which began barely an hour after thousands of mourners gathered for a vigil in memory of the victims who lost their lives.
Just metres away, a 32-year-old man dressed all in black and wearing a hat on the hottest day of the year was also arrested after he was caught with a switchblade on Eastbank Street at 6.55pm.
Three girls were killed in a bloody massacre on Hart Street on Monday. A vigil was held for the victims on Lord Street on Tuesday. While it was going on, a man with a switchblade was arrested on Eastbank Street. Rioting broke out outside a mosque on St Luke’s Road – also on Tuesday
Southport burns: A street near a mosque goes up in flames as violent criminals took to the streets last night
On nearby St Luke’s Street, rioters surrounded the Southport Mosque and Islamic Cultural Centre, chanting “English till I die” and throwing rubble at police officers who had formed a protective line around the building.
The violence appears to have been sparked by false online claims that the suspect was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK by boat.
The 17-year-old boy, who remains in custody on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, is originally from Cardiff but now lives in the nearby Lancashire village of Banks.
Police say the motive for the attack is unclear, but that it is not terrorism-related.