Axel Rudakubana, 17, is accused of fatally stabbing three children and injuring ten others.
Axel Rudakubana, a 17-year-old, has been identified by a British court as the suspect accused of fatally stabbing three children in Southport. The murders have sparked violent riots across England.
Rudakubana was charged on Wednesday with the murders of nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar, six-year-old Bebe King, and seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, who he allegedly stabbed at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport on Monday. Rudakubana is also accused of stabbing eight other children and two adults.
While British law typically grants anonymity to suspects under the age of eighteen, Judge Andrew Menary of Liverpool Magistrates Court ruled on Thursday that Rudakubana’s name could be released, as he is set to turn 18 next week.
Menary added that not naming Rudakubana would allow “others who are up to mischief to continue to spread disinformation in a vacuum.”
Rumors circulating online after the murders falsely claimed that a Muslim migrant was responsible. According to British media reports, Rudakubana was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents.
The Southport murders ignited widespread public anger, with protests occurring in London, Hartlepool, and Manchester on Wednesday evening. Protesters in London and Hartlepool were observed hurling beer cans, bottles, and other debris at police officers, and London’s Metropolitan Police stated that over 100 individuals were arrested in the capital.
In Southport, hundreds of protesters rioted outside a mosque on Tuesday, the disturbance fueled by rumors that a Muslim man had been apprehended with a knife near the gathering. Bricks and stones were thrown at the mosque, and more than 50 police officers sustained injuries while attempting to disperse the riot.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer addressed the nation on Thursday following a meeting with police chiefs. Starmer dedicated much of his speech to the protests and riots rather than the stabbings, with the PM attributing the unrest to “far-right hatred” and pledging to provide police forces with the “national capability” to prevent similar riots in the future.