London — British police announced Thursday that they had charged a 17-year-old boy with murder Knife attack leaves three little girls dead and several others in critical condition. The charges came as the traumatised town of Southport came together after a wave of far-right violence and agitators fired up by anger and misinformation clashed with police near the prime minister’s London residence.
Merseyside Police said the teenager, who has not been named because of his age, faces three counts of murder and ten counts of attempted murder of people injured in the attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga class during the summer holidays.
He is due to appear in Liverpool Crown Court later on Thursday.
About twenty children were taking part in the summer holiday workshop on Monday when a An attacker armed with a knife burst inAlice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Bebe King, 6, died from their injuries. Ten other people were injured, including five girls and two adults who are in critical condition.
Far-right protesters have launched several violent demonstrations, apparently in response to the attack, clashing with police outside a Southport mosque on Tuesday.
Hundreds of protesters threw beer cans and flares near British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Downing Street residence in central London on Wednesday night, with more than 100 people arrested for offences including violent disorder and an assault on an emergency services worker, London’s Metropolitan Police said.
Police also faced violent protesters in the north-east English town of Hartlepool as far-right groups sought to stir up anger over an attack they sought to link – without evidence – to immigrants.
Hours earlier, Southport residents swept broken glass and bricks from the streets after far-right protesters clashed with police outside a mosque in the seaside town.
On Tuesday night, a crowd of several hundred people threw bricks and bottles at riot police in Southport, set fire to trash cans and vehicles and looted a store, hours after the deaths of girls aged 6, 7 and 9 who had attended a peaceful vigil. More than 50 officers were injured, with more than 20 taken to hospital, authorities said.
“I am absolutely appalled and disgusted by the level of violence displayed by my officers,” said Serena Kennedy, Chief Constable of Merseyside Police. “Some of the first responders who witnessed this horrific scene on Monday … were subsequently confronted with this level of violence.”
Five men have been arrested in connection with the Southport riots, mainly for violent disorder; one was arrested for possession of a knife and affray. Kennedy said more arrests were expected.
Starmer condemned the “brutalism” and said protesters had “hijacked” the community’s grief.
Norman Wallis, general manager of Southport Pleasureland, was one of dozens of people who came with brushes and shovels to clear away the debris.
“It’s horrific what these hooligans did last night,” he said. “But none of these people were Southport people,” he added. “It’s the people of Southport who are here today cleaning up the mess.”
The apparent role of disinformation
The protesters, who police said were supporters of the far-right English Defence League, were apparently motivated by false online rumours about the suspect.
Police said a name circulating on social media – spread by far-right activists and accounts of obscure origin claiming to be news outlets – was incorrect and that he was born in Britain, contrary to online claims that he was an asylum seeker. The names of suspects under 18 are not generally made public in Britain.
Local lawmaker Patrick Hurley said the violence by “drunken 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 a real impact around the world,” he said.
Chanaka Balasuryla, whose corner shop was raided for alcohol and cigarettes, said he watched from his home on a surveillance camera as a gang broke in. He was terrified because a woman and her daughter lived upstairs and he feared the looters would set fire to the shop.
He later learned that the woman confronted the crowd and told them that the Windsor Mini Mart was her store and asked them to stop. The next morning, he went to her store where people were waiting to help him clean up.
“I feel safe again because people are here to protect us,” he said.
Knife crime: a growing concern in the UK
The Southport massacre is the latest shocking attack in a country where a recent rise in knife crime has fuelled concern and led to calls for the government to do more to crack down on bladed weapons, by far the most common instrument used in UK homicides.
Witnesses described hearing screams and seeing children covered in blood in the chaos outside Hart Space, a community center that hosts everything from pregnancy workshops to women’s boot camps.
Joel Verite, a window cleaner who was traveling in a van on his lunch break, said his colleague slammed on the brakes and reversed to where a woman was hanging over the side of a car covered in blood.
“She screamed at me: ‘He’s killing children over there. He’s killing children over there,'” Verite told Sky News.
“It was like a scene from a disaster movie,” he said. “I can’t explain to you how horrible what I saw was.”
Britain’s worst attack on children occurred in 1996, when Thomas Hamilton, 43, shot dead 16 nursery school pupils and their teacher in a school gym in Dunblane, Scotland. The UK has since banned the private ownership of almost all handguns.
Although knives are used in about 40% of homicides each year, mass stabbings are rare.
Taylor Swift gives her opinion
Swift posted a message on social media on Tuesday expressing her sympathy.
“The horror of yesterday’s attack in Southport continues to overwhelm me, and I am in complete shock,” Swift wrote. “The loss of life and innocence, and the horrific trauma inflicted on everyone who was there, the families and the first responders. They were just little kids in a dance class. I don’t know how to express my sympathy to these families.”
Taylor Swift/Instagram
As of Tuesday morning, a group of Swift fans had raised tens of thousands of dollars to support the victims of the attack and their families, according to CBS News partner BBC News.
— Haley Ott contributed reporting
