The suspect in the tragic Southport stabbing which killed three young girls has been publicly named for the first time. His name was revealed by the Recorder of Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary KC at Liverpool Crown Court. The judge chose to reveal the boy's name in order to combat misinformation surrounding the identity of the suspect. Given that his identity would have been revealed on Wednesday when he turns eighteen, the judge lifted restrictions on press coverage, saying, "allowing full reporting will undoubtedly remove some of the misreporting as to the identity of the defendant."
Judge Menary KC also said that "he had to balance the risk to the suspect's family and the risk to him in custody with the public interest accurately reporting his identity," according to the Daily Mail.
The Killer Unmasked
The suspect is a seventeen-year-old boy named Axel Rudakubana, and he has been charged with three counts of murder, ten counts of attempted murder, and possession of a bladed article. Rudakubana appeared in court on August 1 for a five-minute hearing, for all of which he remained silent. According to the DailyMail, he was wearing a baggy grey tracksuit and kept his sweatshirt pulled above his nose, hiding his face.
Rudakubana entered a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop in Southport on Monday with a "kitchen knife with a curved blade" and attacked the children in the class as well as the adults teaching it. Six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar succumbed to their injuries. Eight more children and two of the dance teachers were wounded, but are currently in stable condition.
Rudakubana was born in Cardiff but resided in Banks in Lancashire and his parents are reportedly Rwandan, contrary to swirlings of misinformation online regarding his background.
The judge revealed Rudakubana's identity out of the hope of quelling some of the violence that emerged as a result of the misinformation. A far-right riot broke out in Southport on Tuesday night following a vigil for the victims of the attack. An estimated 200-300 were involved in the riot and five were arrested after over fifty police officers and three police dogs were injured by the mob. The violence included bricks being thrown at a local mosque.
Rampant Misinformation
Russian state media were apparently part of the spread of misinformation around Rudakubana's identity, claiming that the boy was on an M16 watchlist and had arrived in the UK via boat only last year. This information fueled the fire of the right-wing mobs, as protests erupted overnight in London, Manchester, Hartlepool, and Aldershot. Many of those involved in the riots are said to be followers of the English Defence League, a far-right Islamophobic organization. The mother of one of the stabbing victims, Elsie Dot Stancombe, condemned the violence on Facebook, saying that "the police have been nothing but heroic these last 24 hours."
Uprisings at Downing Street
Over 100 people were arrested in London after turning on police at the "Enough is Enough" demonstration, where there were chants of "We want our country back," "Stop the boats, and "Save our kids," as well as flares thrown on Downing Street. Four people were arrested in Hartlepool after protestors set a police car on fire and took photos with it.
As the community grapples with the loss of three young lives, the decision to reveal Axel Rudakubana's identity marks a step towards mending the exacerbated tensions following the incident. Judge Andrew Menary KC's decision aims to provide clarity and stem further unrest fueled by false information. The outpouring of grief and support for the victims' families should be accompanied by a commitment to peace and unity, rejecting the violence and division that have overtaken the aftermath of such a horrific incident.
