British police have charged a 17-year-old man with the murder of three young girls and attempted murder, in a knife attack at a summer dance course. This ‘shocked’ the UK and sparked violent protests.
In addition to the killing of three girls aged six to nine, eight other children were stabbed in the horrific incident that took place on Monday in an otherwise peaceful town in northwest England. Five of them are in critical condition in hospital, along with two adults who tried to protect them.
The teenager, whose identity cannot be released due to his age, will appear at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court today over the incident which happened on Monday at a children’s summer holiday event in the seaside town of Southport, Reuters reports.
Major riots erupted in the northwest English town on Tuesday after false information spread on social media that the suspect in the knife attacks was a radical Islamist migrant.
In London on Wednesday, thousands of people gathered near the Prime Minister’s residence in Downing Street, chanting “Save our children”, “We want our country back” and “Stop the ships”. More than 100 people were arrested during the protests.
Police, who arrested the 17-year-old on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, said the incident was not terrorism-related and sought to play down speculation about the suspect’s background, saying he was born in Britain.
