British justice has identified the 17-year-old who murdered three girls who were fans of Taylor Swift in Southport

A police car burns as police officers are deployed on the streets of Hartlepool, England, following a violent protest following the killing of three girls who were fatally stabbed in northwest England, Wednesday, July 31, 2024. Far-right groups are seeking to stoke anger over an attack they have sought to link, without evidence, to immigrants. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)

A 17-year-old boy charged with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder over the stabbings at a dance class in north-west England has been identified as Axel Rudakubana at his first court appearance on Thursday.

Liverpool judge Andrew Menary said his order was exceptional given the boy’s age but decided not to protect his name because he will become an adult when he turns 18 next week and because of rumours about his identity that appeared to have inspired two nights of violent rioting across England.

“Continuing to prevent full disclosure of information has the disadvantage of allowing others to spread misinformation in a vacuum.”Menary told Liverpool Crown Court.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer summoned Britain’s police chiefs to address the crisis on Thursday after police in London, Manchester and Hartlepool clashed with protesters throwing beer bottles and firing flares near government offices in the capital.

Deputy Crown prosecutor Ursula Doyle, left, and Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy speak during a news conference at Merseyside Police headquarters in Liverpool, England, early Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, as they announce that a 17-year-old boy has been charged with the murder of three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club in Southport. The teenager, who has not been named due to his age, also faces 10 counts of attempted murder. (Eleanor Barlow/PA via AP)

Monday’s attack on children attending a Taylor Swift-themed summer dance class shocked a country where knife crime is a long-standing and vexing problem, though Mass stabbings are rareFar-right activists have used the deaths to stoke anger against immigrants and Muslims, although the suspect is not an immigrant and his religion has not been revealed.

Rudakubana, who police say was born in Britain, has not been charged with terrorism offences but faces three counts of murder in the deaths of Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Bebe King, 6.in the coastal town of Southport.

It has also been charged with 10 counts of attempted murder for the eight children and two adults who were injured.

Rudakubana did not enter a plea and was ordered held without bail and returned to juvenile detention, though Menary said that could change after his birthday. His next court hearing will be Oct. 25.

This drawing by Elizabeth Cook shows Axel Rudakubana, 17, centre, covering his face as he appeared in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court, in Liverpool, England, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (Elizabeth Cook/PA via AP)

The adults, who are in critical condition, were first identified as Leanne Lucaswho led the dance and yoga class, and John Hayeswho was working nearby and intervened in the attack to protect the children. The injured children cannot be identified because of their ages.

Two of the children were discharged from hospital on Thursday, Alder Hey Children’s Hospital said. Five others are in a stable condition in hospital.

Police have not revealed a motive for the crime, but another new detail has emerged: The alleged murder weapon was a kitchen knife with a curved blade, according to an additional charge he faces.

The suspect, wearing a grey tracksuit, smiled briefly at reporters during an initial appearance at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court. At his later appearance at the Crown Court, he pulled his sweatshirt up over his hair to cover his face. He did not speak.

Firefighters tend to a burning police car as police officers are deployed on the streets of Hartlepool, England, following a violent protest following the killing of three girls who were fatally stabbed in northwest England, Wednesday, July 31, 2024. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)

Neither the teenager’s parents nor the victims’ relatives were present in court.

Far-right protesters, fueled in part by online misinformation, have held several violent protests apparently in response to the attack, clashing with police outside a mosque in Southport on Tuesday and causing a brawl near the prime minister’s office in London the following day.

Starmer’s office said it would tell police leaders that “while the right to peaceful protest must be protected at all costs, it will be clear that criminals who exploit that right to spread hatred and carry out acts of violence 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 Downing Street residence in London on Wednesday night, and fired flares at a nearby statue of wartime leader Winston Churchill. More than 100 people were arrested for offences including violent disorder and assaulting an emergency worker.London’s Metropolitan Police force said.

Protesters clash with police during the “Enough is Enough” protest in Whitehall, London. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)

In the north-east English town of Hartlepool, police officers were attacked with bottles and eggs, and a police car was set on fire. Far-right groups are seeking to spark outrage over an attack they have tried to link to immigrants. A smaller riot was reported in Manchester.

On Tuesday night, a crowd of several hundred people threw bricks and bottles at riot police in Southport, set fire to trash cans and vehicles and looted a store, hours after a peaceful vigil for the stabbing victims.

“I am absolutely appalled and disgusted by the level of violence that was shown towards my officers,” said Merseyside Police Chief Serena Kennedy. “Some of the first responders who attended that terrible scene on Monday … were faced with that level of violence.”

Police said a name circulating on social media purporting to be that of the suspect – spread by far-right activists and shady accounts purporting to be news organisations – was incorrect and that the suspect was born in Britain, contrary to online claims that he was an asylum seeker.

Protesters clash with police during a demonstration under the slogan “Enough is enough” in Whitehall, London, Wednesday, July 31, 2024. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)

Patrick Hurley, a local legislator, said the violence committed by “drunken thugs” It was the result of “propaganda and lies” spread on social media.

“This misinformation doesn’t just exist in people’s web browsers and phones. It has an impact in the real world,” he said.

The worst attack on children in Britain occurred in 1996, when Thomas Hamilton, 43, shot dead 16 kindergarten children and their teacher in a school gymnasium in Dunblane, Scotland. The UK subsequently banned private ownership of almost all firearms.

While knives are used in about 40% of homicides each year, mass stabbings are rare. However, a recent rise in knife crime has fuelled anxiety and led to calls for the government to do more to crack down on knives, by far the most commonly used instruments in UK murder.

(with information from AP)