Southport stabbing UK: Teen charged over horror knife rampage, 100 people arrested over protest
A 17-year-old charged with three counts of murder has gone before a judge in the UK after three girls were killed at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.
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A teenager has been charged with three counts of murder after three girls were killed at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in northwest England.
The 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has also been charged with ten counts of attempted murder after the horrific knife rampage in Southport, Merseyside.
He appeared in court on Thursday where Sarah Hammond, Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS Mersey-Cheshire, said: “The Crown Prosecution Service has authorised Merseyside Police to charge a 17-year-old male, of Banks, Lancashire, with three counts of murder and ten counts of attempted murder following the tragic incident that took place in Southport this week.
“He will appear at Liverpool City Magistrates’ Court on Thursday August 1, 2024.”
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TENSIONS RISE AS MORE RIOTS UNFOLD
Violent scuffles continued for a second night in parts of England following the Southport deadly attack.
Rioters clashed with police in London, Hartlepool and Manchester, where police cars were torched and glass bottles thrown.
About 100 people were arrested in London at an Enough is Enough protest outside UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Downing Street residence, meanwhile riot police in Manchester were pelted with glass bottles after protesters targeted a hotel where migrants were believe to be staying.
In Hartlepool, rioters were seen throwing objects at police, including glass bottles and eggs, and a police car was set on fire.
It comes after 53 offers were injured, at least eight of them seriously, and four suspects were arrested in the violent classes that broke out on Tuesday.
The scenes of violence have been widely condemned, with Mr Starmer vowing that those responsible would “face the full force of the law”.
NEW CCTV FOOTAGE EMERGES
Chilling new CCTV footage has emerged showing a masked individual walking through the streets of Southport just hours before the knife rampage.
The video, captured just after 11am on Monday morning, local time, appears to show the person wearing a face mask and a green hoodie over their head as they walk through the Banks area.
It came as a neighbour, who did not want to be named, told the Liverpool Echo that the alleged 17-year-old attacker was a “quiet choir boy” who enjoyed musical theatre.
POLICE CLASH WITH RIOTERS
Police vans were set on fire as officers clashed with rioters outside a mosque near the scene of the horror stabbing in Southport, northwest England, that left three children dead.
A major incident was declared as 22 police officers were treated by the ambulance service for injuries, with 11 taken to hospital.
Large crowds clashed with officers outside the mosque as police vans were set ablaze and balaclava-clad men shouted “England until I die”.
Bottles and bricks were thrown at police vans in the violent protests, which police said were sparked by members of the far-right English Defence League.
The girls killed in the attack have been named by police as Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine.
The violent protests appear to be linked to several false accusations spread online, with an incorrect name of the 17-year-old boy that has been arrested over the attack shared on social media.
The teenager, originally from Cardiff but from the nearby village of Banks, remains in custody accused of murder and attempted murder.
The BBC reported that the teenager, whose parents are from Rwanda, was born in Cardiff and moved to the Southport area in 2013.
Merseyside Police Assistant Chief Constable Alex Goss described the riot scenes in Southport as “sickening”.
“It is sickening to see this happening within a community that has been devastated by the tragic loss of three young lives,” he said.
PM HECKLED BY ONLOOKERS
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was confronted at the site of the horrific mass attack as furious residents shouted: “How many more children are [going to] die on our streets prime minister?”
As the PM placed flowers near community hub The Hart Space, where the attack took place, onlookers shouted angrily.
Keir Starmer is heckled by onlookers as he lays flowers at the scene of the Southport knife attack.@LBC@LBCNewspic.twitter.com/ZTPeWOL4Ew
— Liam Gotting (@GlobalGotting) July 30, 2024
One man yelled out: “Are we going to do something?
“How many more children? Is it mine next?”
One angry onlooker accused the PM of merely wanting a photo opportunity.
“Among the shock and sadness and the deep, deep grief, there is also anger – and we’ve just heard a snippet of that,” said Sky News correspondent Ashna Hurynag.
SUSPECT FROM ‘NORMAL FAMILY’: NEIGHBOUR
The 17-year-old suspect came from a “normal” and “lovely” family from a nice neighbourhood, according to his former neighbour.
“They were a normal family. The house was rented at the time. Houses around here, the rent’s not cheap,” they told Sky News on condition of anonymity.
“It’s really sad. They were a normal family, they were a lovely family, she was a good mum, they were a good family ... the kids were nice.”
‘I WANTED TO HURT HIM’: WITNESS CONFRONTED ATTACKER
Heroic window cleaner Joel Verite, who helped apprehend the attacker, said he “locked eyes” with the male in the immediate aftermath of the stabbing.
Describing what he saw, Mr Verite, a former rugby league player for Wigan and Salford, said: “We were just listening to music in our own world, then he (his colleague) slammed on the brakes and all I can see from my side is a girl hanging from the side of her car.
“I jumped out the car and I just asked her if she was alright. She just looked in complete shock and had blood all over her body.
“She just screamed at me: ‘He’s killing kids over there, he’s killing kids over there’.”
He came across another woman in a car with “four or five” injured children in the back.
“It was like a scene from a disaster film,” he told Sky News.
Mr Verite entered the building to find the knife-wielding attacker at the top of the stairs, he told Sky News.
“I look up and there’s this guy with a knife,” he said.
“I just wanted to hurt him so bad. But I was scared for myself and I wanted to help people.”
Mr Verite said he smashed the door to prevent the suspect escaping before returning to the carpark before police arrived.
TAYLOR SWIFT SHARES HEARTFELT MESSAGE
Taylor Swift shared a heartfelt post on her Instagram after the stabbing that left two children dead and six youngsters critically injured.
“The horror of yesterday’s attack in Southport is washing over me continuously, and I’m just completely in shock,” the singer wrote.
“The loss of life and innocence, and the horrendous trauma inflicted on everyone who was there, the families and first responders. These were just little kids at a dance class. I am a complete loss for how to ever convey my sympathies to these families.”
CHILLING FOOTAGE REVEALED
Chilling video shows an individual with a knife pacing in front of a house that was later raided by police.
The doorbell footage, obtained by ITV, was taken 20 minutes prior to the knife attack in Southport, Merseyside, in northern England.
EXCL: We’ve obtained footage of an individual pacing in front of a house that was later raided by police in Southport.
— Paul Brand (@PaulBrandITV) July 29, 2024
The footage is taken 20 minutes before two children were killed and 11 other people were injured in a knife attack.pic.twitter.com/oVXDQo2n4k
ITV presenter Paul Brand shared the footage on X, formerly Twitter.
He said neighbours told him they later saw the same individual in the video get into a taxi. “The scene of the attacks is around a 15 minute drive from this location. Armed police arrived around two hours later to raid the house,” Brand said.
HERO TEACHER FIGHTS FOR LIFE
Two female teachers, who bravely tried to defend the children, are also in a critical condition after being injured.
One of the teachers fighting for her life has been named as Leanne Lucas, a 35-year-old yoga instructor.
She is the owner and founder of Enlighten – the company which organised the Taylor Swift-themed yoga dance and dance workshop.
Meanwhile, a a heroic businessman was stabbed in the leg as he tried to disarm the attacker.
Jonathan Hayes, 63, ran into the workshop and tried to stop the frenzied attack.
His wife Helen, 57, said he regrets not being able to do more.
She said he put himself between the attacker and the children.
KING CHARLES CONDEMNS ‘APPALLING ATTACK’
King Charles condemned the “truly appalling attack”, which Prime Minister Keir Starmer said had left the entire country “deeply shocked”.
Prince William and Princess Catherine posted a heartfelt message after the horrific incident.
“As parents we cannot begin to imagine what the families, friends and loved ones of those killed and injured in Southport today are going through,” their statement said.
“We send our love, thoughts and prayers to all those involved in this horrid and heinous attack.
“Thank you also to the emergency responders who despite being met with the most horrific scenes, demonstrated compassion and professionalism when your community needed you most.”
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