(Southport) A 17-year-old boy was charged on Thursday with the murder of three girls in a knife attack in Southport, in the northwest of England, two days after clashes in the traumatised town.
The Crown Prosecution Service “has authorised Merseyside Police to charge a 17-year-old male resident of Banks, Lancashire,” it said in a statement. The teenager faces “three counts of murder and ten counts of [autres] of attempted murder, following the tragic event in Southport this week,” he added.
The suspect will appear in court in Liverpool, northwest England, on Thursday.
Since the attack, many rumours about his nationality, the time of his arrival in the United Kingdom and his religion have abounded on social networks.
According to the BBC, the suspect’s family is from Rwanda.
Read also “Violent clashes between police and demonstrators”
On Tuesday night, around a hundred protesters lit fires and clashed with police, according to an AFP journalist at the scene. Some set fire to vehicles, “threw bricks at a local mosque and damaged a grocery store,” Merseyside police said in a statement, which “suspects” the protesters of being “supporters” of the English Defence League (EDL), a far-right movement.
PHOTO TEMILADE ADELAJA, REUTERS
The smashed windows of the Southport Islamic Society Mosque on Sussex Road are pictured, after violent protests following a vigil for the victims of the Southport knife attack.
Authorities have tried to appeal for patience and caution from a population demanding answers about the attacker’s motivations.
British police deployed significant resources on Wednesday to prevent further violence in Southport, following violent clashes the day before, which were strongly condemned by the government.
While no notable incidents were reported in the evening, a tense demonstration, in reaction to the government’s response to Monday’s attack, took place in London near Downing Street.
Police officers were targeted by bottles and several people were arrested after the gathering, where many participants were carrying English flags on their shoulders.
On Tuesday evening in Southport, clashes, attributed by the police to far-right protesters, broke out against a backdrop of online speculation about the origin of the suspect in the attack, the motive of which is still unknown, which has plunged the seaside town into mourning.
Two hundred to three hundred people lit fires, threw bricks at a mosque and clashed with security forces, injuring 53 officers, according to police.
PHOTO JORDAN PETTITT, ASSOCIATED PRESS
British police deployed significant resources on Wednesday to prevent further violence in Southport.
“It was terrifying,” said mosque president Ibrahim Hussein, who was trapped inside the building during the clashes. “The wickedness was incomprehensible,” he added. “We have been here for 30 years without any problems.”
On Wednesday, several members of the local Muslim community gathered outside the mosque as cleaners and residents cleared away debris remaining on the street.
Four men aged 31 to 39 were arrested, according to police, three accused of participating in the clashes and the fourth of affray and possession of a bladed weapon. “Others will follow,” warned Serena Kennedy.
” Insult ”
Police said they “suspect” those responsible for the violence of being “supporters” of the English Defence League (EDL), a far-right anti-Islam movement whose demonstrations are regularly marred by excesses.
PHOTO RICHARD MCCARTHY, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
On Tuesday evening in Southport, clashes, attributed by the police to far-right protesters, broke out against a backdrop of online speculation about the origin of the suspect in the attack, the motive of which is still unknown, which has plunged the seaside town into mourning.
“Those who hijacked the victims’ vigil with violence and brutality have insulted the people in their mourning. They will face the full force of the law,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer responded on X.
The knife attack happened at midday on Monday, in the middle of the school holidays, in a dance club during a children’s activity based around the music of Taylor Swift.
Two girls, aged six and seven, died the same day, and a third, aged nine, died on Tuesday. According to the latest report, eight other children were injured, five of whom were still in critical condition on Tuesday.
Two adults were also seriously injured, probably while trying to “protect” the children, according to police.
Disinformation
Local MP Patrick Hurley blamed “propaganda and lies” being spread online, some of it “in the hope of causing division”.
Masculinist influencer Andrew Tate, who also identifies as Muslim, had posted a video on social media that was shared by nearly 15 million people in which he attributed the attack to an “illegal immigrant.”
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) said the Islamophobic backlash began with a false online rumour, fuelled by misinformation from a Russian news website, which wrongly linked the crime to Muslims.
“In this time of great tragedy, loss and mourning, we must stand firm in the face of the cynical forces of hatred and division,” said Zara Mohammed, MCB Secretary General.
At the vigil on Tuesday evening, June Burns, the mayor of Sefton, the district to which Southport belongs, called from the podium for “calm and respect” in front of a gathered crowd.