LONDON, Aug 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A 17-year-old male was charged on Thursday with the murder of three girls and the attempted murder of 10 more people in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class, UK prosecutors said.
“The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) 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,” prosecutors said in a statement.
Three children were killed and nine others injured in the stabbing incident on Monday, police said. Two adults were also injured while trying to protect the children, police said.
Bebe King, 6, and 7-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe were killed in the attack. A third girl, 9-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar, died on Tuesday morning in the hospital, police said.
Merseyside police said the children were attending a Taylor Swift-themed event at a dance school at the time.
Officers responded just before noon on Monday to reports of a stabbing at a property in Southport, a seaside town about 20 miles north of Liverpool, according to Merseyside police.
Police had previously said a 17-year-old boy from Banks, a coastal village in Lancashire, just outside Southport, had been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. The suspect was born in Cardiff, Wales, police said.
The suspect behind the Southport attack was named for the first time as 17-year-old Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, after the judge at Liverpool Crown Court lifted reporting restrictions.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with police chiefs from across the country to discuss plans to tackle violent disorder in several towns and cities, including Southport on Tuesday night.
Starmer condemned what he called “far-right hatred” and announced a new “national capability” in order to help police forces – more on that here.
In Southport, more flowers and handwritten tributes have been left for the three girls who died in the attack – Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven – as the community continues to mourn. — NNN-AGENCIES
