Taylor Swift fans organize fundraiser for victims of UK stabbing

Flowers at a makeshift memorial for the victims; James Speakman/PA Images via Getty

Following the tragic stabbing deaths of three children in Southport, England, during a Taylor Swift-themed event, Swifties in Europe and the U.K. are coming together to help.

Cristina Jones and Holly Goldring, who run the Taylor Swift U.K. and European Union Facebook groups, have posted an online fundraiser at JustGiving.com. According to the website, the funds are being raised in conjunction with Alder Hey Children’s Hospital and all the money will go to the families impacted by the murders via the hospital’s charity. At press time, more than $400,000 had been raised.

Jones told BBC Newsbeat that the group was “very, very happy” with how much had been raised and that she would be speaking to the hospital about the funds “very, very shortly.”

As previously reported, a 17-year-old man is in custody after the stabbing deaths on Monday, which took place at the Taylor Swift Yoga & Dance Workshop for kids ages 6 to 11. Three girls, ages 6, 7 and 9, were killed; five other children and two adults are in critical condition.

Taylor wrote on her Instagram Story Tuesday that she was “completely in shock,” adding, “These were just little kids at a dance class. I am at a complete loss for how to ever convey my sympathies to these families.”

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