Police are prepared for further trouble in the English seaside town of Southport after violent clashes followed the deaths of three young girls in a frenzied knife attack at a dance class, the area’s top officer said on Wednesday.
A 17-year-old male was in police custody on suspicion of murder and attempted murder after the bloody rampage on Monday at a “Taylor Swift yoga and dance workshop”, a summer vacation event for children aged 6 to 11.
More than 50 officers suffered injuries in disturbances in Southport on Tuesday night that took place after false information was spread on social media that the suspect behind the stabbings the day before was a radical Islamist migrant.
Police vans were set on fire and protesters hurled bricks, bottles and fireworks at officers and at cars parked at the town’s mosque.
“Just to reassure the communities of Southport, who I am sure are really worried about ‘are we going to see this again tonight?’ – we are absolutely planning for this evening and for the weekend ahead,” Serena Kennedy, chief constable of Merseyside Police, told reporters.
As well as killing three girls aged six to nine, Monday’s attack in the normally quiet town in northwest England saw eight other children stabbed. Five remain in a critical condition in hospital, along with two adults who tried to protect them.
Police are legally restricted in the details they can provide about the alleged teenage attacker, but they have said the incident was not terrorism-related and that he was born in Britain, quashing speculation on his origins.
That did not prevent protesters, who police believe were supporters of a right-wing anti-Islam, anti-immigration group, from targeting the mosque and attacking police who tried to stop them.
‘THUGS FROM OUT OF TOWN’
Politicians and police said most of those taking part in the violence were not from the area, and that the clashes detracted from a large vigil attended by thousands to pay tribute to the young victims.
Police said 53 officers were hurt, with eight treated in hospital for serious injuries including fractures and head wounds. Three police dogs were also hurt.
Source:reuters.com
