UK Prime Minister And Police Hold Crisis Meeting Over Unrest As Stabbing Attack Suspect Due In Court

Prime Minister Keir Starmer summoned British police chiefs for a crisis meeting on Thursday over violent unrest that followed a stabbing attack that left three young girls dead. A 17-year-old suspect appeared in court to face three counts of murder and 10 of attempted murder.

The attack on children at a Taylor Swift-themed summer holiday dance class shocked a country where knife crime is a long-standing and vexing problem. The deaths have also been used by far-right activists to stoke anger at immigrants and Muslims – though the suspect is not an immigrant, and his religion has not been disclosed.

The suspect has not been named because he is under 18, but police say he was born in Britain. He has not been charged with terrorism offenses but faces three counts of murder over the deaths of Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Bebe King, 6, in the seaside town of Southport in northwest England.

He also has been charged with 10 counts of attempted murder over eight children and two adults who were injured. Several of the victims remain in critical condition.

Read more: AP