UK charges 17-year-old over Southport killings as far-right protests rage
Al Jazeera
Teen charged with murder for killing three girls in Southport as far-right protesters clash with police outside the prime minister’s office in London.
Prosecutors in the United Kingdom have charged a 17-year-old with murder and attempted murder over a knife attack that left three girls dead and wounded 10 others in the seaside town of Southport in northwest England.
The charges on Thursday came as Southport cleaned up after a bout of far-right violence that included clashes at a mosque, and agitators – fired up by false claims the assailant was an asylum-seeker – confronted the police near the prime minister’s residence in London.
Merseyside Police said the teenager, who has not been named because of his age, faces three counts of murder and 10 of attempted murder over people injured in the attack during a Taylor Swift-themed summer holiday dance and yoga class.
He is due to appear in court in Liverpool later on Thursday.
About two dozen children were attending the holiday workshop on Monday when an attacker with a knife burst in. Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Bebe King, 6, died from their injuries. The 10 who were wounded included five girls and two adults who are in critical condition.
