Southport knife attack: British teenage suspect named

LONDON –

A 17-year-old boy charged with three counts of murder and 10 attempted murder over stabbings at a dance class in north-west England was named in court on Thursday as Axel Rudakubana.

Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary said that despite the boy not yet being an adult, he could still be given a name because he turns 18 next week.

The teenager appeared in court in Liverpool accused of murdering Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Bebe King, 6, in the seaside resort of Southport.

He also faces 10 counts of attempted murder in the deaths of the eight children and two adults who were seriously injured.

Police have not released a motive for the crime, but the criminal complaint indicates the alleged murder weapon was a kitchen knife with a curved blade.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Below is the earlier AP story.

LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister Keir Starmer called Britain’s police chiefs to an emergency meeting on Thursday over the violent unrest that followed a stabbing attack that left three young girls dead. The 17-year-old suspect appeared in court to face three counts of murder and 10 of attempted murder.

The attack on children at a Taylor Swift-themed summer dance class on Monday shocked a country where knife crime is a long-standing and vexing problem, though mass stabbings are rare. The deaths have been used by far-right activists to stoke anger among immigrants and Muslims — though the suspect is not an immigrant and his religion has not been disclosed.

The suspect has not been publicly named because he is under 18, but police say he was born in Britain. He has not been charged with terrorism offences but faces three counts of murder in the deaths of Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Bebe King, 6, in the north-west English seaside town of Southport.

He has also been charged with 10 counts of attempted murder in the deaths of the eight children and two adults who were injured.

The adults, listed in critical condition, were first publicly named as Leanne Lucas, who led the dance class, and John Hayes, who worked nearby and intervened in the attack to protect children. The injured children cannot be named because of their ages.

Two of the children were discharged on Thursday, Alder Hey Children’s Hospital said. Five others were in stable condition in hospital.

Police have not yet released a motive for the crime, but more details emerged during the suspect’s initial appearance in Liverpool court.

The alleged murder weapon was a kitchen knife with a curved blade, according to an additional criminal complaint filed against him, which also revealed that the suspect is just a week away from becoming an adult when he turns 18.

The defendant, dressed in a gray tracksuit, smiled briefly at reporters before taking his seat in the courtroom. He then pulled his sweatshirt over his nose and kept his head low during the brief hearing. He did not speak.

Neither the teenager’s parents nor relatives of the victims were present in court.

Far-right protesters — fueled in part by online misinformation — have held several violent protests, apparently in response to the attack. On Tuesday, they clashed with police outside a mosque in Southport, and the next day a brawl broke out near the prime minister’s office in London.

Starmer’s office said he would tell police leaders that “while the right to peaceful protest must be protected at all costs, he will make it clear that criminals who abuse that right to spread hatred and carry out violent acts will face the full force of the law.”

Hundreds of protesters chanted “we want our country back” and threw beer cans and bottles near the prime minister’s residence on Downing Street in London on Wednesday night, and launched flares at a nearby statue of wartime leader Winston Churchill. More than 100 people were arrested for offences including violent disorder and assault on an emergency worker, London’s Metropolitan Police Force said.

Police officers were pelted with bottles and eggs in the north-east English town of Hartlepool, where a police car was set on fire, as far-right groups seek to stoke anger over an attack they have linked to immigrants. A smaller disturbance was reported in Manchester.

On Tuesday evening, a crowd of several hundred people threw rocks and bottles at riot police in Southport, set fire to bins and vehicles and looted a shop, hours after a peaceful vigil was held for the victims of the stabbing.

“I am absolutely shocked and disgusted by the level of violence shown to my officers,” said Merseyside Chief Constable Serena Kennedy. “Some of the emergency services who attended that terrible scene on Monday … were met with that level of violence.”

Police said a name circulating on social media purporting to be the suspect’s name – spread by far-right activists and stories of shady origins posing as news organisations – was incorrect and that the suspect was born in Britain, contrary to online claims he was an asylum seeker.

Patrick Hurley, a local MP, said the violence by “agitated thugs” was the result of “propaganda and lies” spread on social media.

“This misinformation doesn’t just exist on people’s internet browsers and phones. It has an impact on the real world,” he said.

The worst attack on children in Britain was in 1996, when 43-year-old Thomas Hamilton shot dead 16 pre-schoolers and their teacher in a school gymnasium in Dunblane, Scotland. The UK subsequently banned the private ownership of almost all handguns.

Although knives are used in around 40 per cent of murders each year, mass stabbings are uncommon. But a recent surge in knife crime has fuelled fears and led to calls for the government to do more to tackle bladed weapons, by far the most commonly used instrument in homicides in the UK.