A 17-year-old stabbing suspect has been identified and charged with murdering three girls participating in a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in northwest England earlier this week, British police said.
The name of Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, who will turn 18 in less than a week, was made public after Judge Andrew Menary agreed to lift restrictions protecting his identity due to his age, BBC News reported. In the United Kingdom all suspects younger than 18 years old are granted automatic anonymity, aside from exceptional cases.
In addition to three counts of murder, Rudakubana was also charged with 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a “bladed article.” He’s accused of carrying out a grisly stabbing spree during a Swift-themed yoga and dance workshop at the Hart Space Studio in the Merseyside town of Southport, about 10 miles north of Liverpool.
About two dozen children between the ages of 6 and 11 years old were participating in the event on Monday when Rudakubana attacked around 11:50 a.m. local time, police said.
Bebe King, 6; Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7; and 9-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar were killed in the rampage, leaving the citizens of Southport reeling. It’s one of the worst assaults against children the country has faced in decades.
Another 10 people were injured, among them five girls and two adults who remain in critical condition.
Menary on Thursday concluded that protecting Rudakubana’s identity would have “little practical effect in terms of protecting the welfare of the defendant or his family,” the BBC reported.
“Continuing to prevent full reporting at this stage has a disadvantage of allowing others up to mischief to continue to spread misinformation in a vacuum,” he added.
In the hours after the attack, a fake name of a supposed suspect, Ali Al-Shakati, started circulating on social media. It was followed by rumors suggesting the attacker was an asylum-seeker who had recently arrived in Britain, prompting some to place the blame on immigrants and Muslims.
On Tuesday, community members mourned those lost and wounded in the attack during a peaceful vigil. Just hours later, hundreds of rioters descended on the traumatized town, hurling bricks at a mosque, lighting cars on fire and attacking police. More than 50 officers were injured in the chaos, including more than two dozen who were taken to hospitals, officials said.
Rudakubana’s parents are from Rwanda, but both he and his brother were born in Cardiff, police said.
With News Wire Services
