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The 17-year-old boy accused of murdering three girls and stabbing 10 others at a dance class was named in court in the UK on Thursday in a bid to counter misinformation about his identity, which has been blamed for violent protests across England.
Judge Andrew Menary said his decision to allow Axel to be named Rudakubana was exceptional given the boy’s age. But he said the teenager would lose his right to anonymity when he turned 18 next week and that keeping his identity secret could allow rumours about him to spread.
“If you continue to suppress full reporting you have the disadvantage that others can spread disinformation in a vacuum,” Menary told Liverpool Crown Court.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called together Britain’s police chiefs on Thursday to tackle the crisis after officers were pelted with bottles and stones in violent clashes in several cities over two nights.
Rudakubana, who police say was born in Wales, has not been charged with terrorism offences but faces three counts of murder in the deaths of Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Bebe King, six, in the north-west English seaside town of Southport. He also faces 10 counts of attempted murder in the deaths of the eight children and two adults who were injured.
The attack on children at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class during the summer holidays shocked the country on Monday. Although stabbings have long been a persistent problem here, mass stabbings are rare.
The deaths are being used by far-right activists to stoke anger among immigrants and Muslims, even though the suspect is not an immigrant and his religion has not been disclosed.
Rudakubana did not enter a plea Thursday and was held without bail and remanded to juvenile detention, though Menary said that could change after his birthday. His next court appearance is Oct. 25.
The adults, who were listed in critical condition, were first named as Leanne Lucas, who led the dance and yoga class, and John Hayes, who worked nearby and intervened in the attack to protect children. The injured children cannot be named because of their ages. Two of the children were discharged on Thursday, Alder Hey Children’s Hospital said.
Five others were in stable condition in the hospital. Prosecutors have not released a motive for the crime, but they did reveal that the alleged murder weapon was a kitchen knife with a curved blade, according to a supplemental complaint against him.
Suspect alone in court
Rudakubana, dressed in a gray tracksuit, smiled briefly at reporters before taking his seat in the courtroom. He then pulled his sweatshirt over his nose and kept his head low during the brief hearing. He did not speak.
Neither the teenager’s parents nor relatives of the victims were present in court.
Far-right protesters — fueled in part by online misinformation — have held several violent protests, apparently in response to the attack. On Tuesday, they clashed with police outside a mosque in Southport, and the next day a brawl broke out near the prime minister’s office in London.
Warning: This video, which shows violent clashes in the English seaside resort of Southport on Tuesday, contains graphic language. Police say the violence is believed to be linked to supporters of the English Defence League, which espouses far-right, Islamophobic views.
Starmer’s office said he would tell police leaders that “while the right to peaceful protest must be protected at all costs, he will make it clear that criminals who abuse that right to spread hatred and carry out violent acts will face the full force of the law.”
Hundreds of protesters chanted “we want our country back” and threw beer cans and bottles near the prime minister’s residence on Downing Street in London on Wednesday night, and launched flares at a nearby statue of wartime leader Winston Churchill. More than 100 people were arrested for offences including violent disorder and assault on an emergency worker, London’s Metropolitan Police Force said.
Police officers were pelted with bottles and eggs in the north-east English town of Hartlepool, where a police car was set on fire, as far-right groups seek to stoke anger over an attack they have linked to immigrants. A smaller disturbance was reported in Manchester.
Police ‘shocked and disgusted’ by rioters
On Tuesday evening, a crowd of several hundred people threw rocks and bottles at riot police in Southport, set fire to bins and vehicles and looted a shop, hours after a peaceful vigil was held for the victims of the stabbing.
“I am absolutely shocked and disgusted by the level of violence that was shown to my officers,” said Merseyside Chief Const. Serena Kennedy. “Some of the emergency services who attended that terrible scene on Monday … were then met with that level of violence.”
Police said a name circulating on social media purporting to be the suspect’s name – spread by far-right activists and stories of shady origins posing as news organisations – was incorrect and that the suspect was born in Britain, contrary to online claims he was an asylum seeker.
Patrick Hurley, a local MP, said the violence by “ripped-up criminals” was the result of “propaganda and lies” spread on social media.
“This misinformation doesn’t just exist on people’s internet browsers and phones. It has a real impact on the world,” he said.
The worst attack on children in Britain was in 1996, when 43-year-old Thomas Hamilton shot dead 16 pre-schoolers and their teacher in a school gymnasium in Dunblane, Scotland. The UK subsequently banned the private ownership of almost all handguns.
Although knives are used in around 40 per cent of murders each year, mass stabbings are uncommon. But a recent surge in knife crime has fuelled fears and led to calls for the government to do more to tackle bladed weapons, by far the most commonly used instrument in homicides in the UK.
