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 some of the young survivors and their family members 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." 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.