Britain has been shaken by a vicious assault on young children that left three dead. The knife attack happened in Southport, in northwest England, at an event where moms took their little girls to learn Taylor Swift dance moves. Three children, aged six, seven, and nine, were stabbed to death, while almost a dozen others sustained serious injuries after a male teenager broke into the dance hall and began knifing children and their mothers indiscriminately.
Police arrested a 17-year-old for the attack, but his name and identity remain a mystery. What is known is that he was born in Cardiff, Wales, to Rwandan immigrant parents and moved to the Southport area as a child. Police have ruled out terrorism as a motive and say they are still investigating why the teenager decided to murder young girls and try to murder several more. A police spokesperson confirmed he has been charged with murder and attempted murder.
Riots broke out across Southport in the wake of the incident, with Merseyside Police sending riot crews to stem the unrest. Rumors that the attacker was a Muslim, as well as news that a man with Arab appearance was arrested at a vigil for the victims, spurred protests near a local mosque. The man detained at the vigil was carrying a knife, police confirmed, but he did not cause any injuries.
Ibrahim Hussein, the chairman of the Southport Mosque, later told reporters that he was trapped inside for hours as protestors threatened to set fire to the building. He was eventually led to safety by police.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper from the newly-elected Labour Party met with local police leaders after the attack and spoke in the House of Commons, where she blamed “misinformation” for “causing division.” Cooper has come under fire, however, for promising that Southport rioters would “feel the full force of the law” after recently taking a very different tone when immigrants rioted after social services took their children into protective welfare. On that occasion, Cooper sympathized with the non-British rioters, and welfare staff eventually released the children back to their parents.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer attended the scene of the Southport killings and received a hostile response from local people. Bystanders shouted, “How many children are going to die?” as he placed a wreath outside the dance hall. Another shouted, “You’ve got your photo, you can leave now.”
The dead children have been identified as six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elise Dot Stancombe, and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar. Eight other children were also stabbed, and two adults are said to be in critical condition. Tributes to the young girls were made online as family members and teachers expressed their shock and sorrow. Bebe King was a pupil at Marshside Primary School, where the headteacher issued a statement describing her as “one of our brightest and most wonderful shining stars.”
Teachers at Farnborough Road Infant School, where Elsie Dot Stancombe attended, described her as a “caring and charismatic young lady.” Portuguese Communities Minister Jose Cesario promised to support Alice Dasilva Aguiar’s family—originally from Portugal—and said his country was in “a state of shock.”
