A teenager charged with murdering three young girls in a knife attack in northern England in July has been further charged with a terrorism offence and the production of deadly poison ricin, according to police and prosecutors on Tuesday.
Axel Rudakubana, the 18-yr old boy is accused of murdering the three young girls aged between six and nine at a Taylor Swift dance event in Southport. The killings had shocked the nation and caused days of rioting across the country.
Police officials had said the incident was still not being treated as terrorist-related but said after searches of his home, Rudakubana had now been charged with two further offences: production of a deadly biological toxin, ricin, and the possession of an al Qaeda training manual.
The Merseyside Chief Constable, Serena Kennedy,
“We have worked extensively with partners to establish that there was a low to very low risk to the public – and I want to make that reassurance clear today.”
She also added that no ricin was found at the scene of the Southport stabbings.
Several disturbances had broken out in the town after information was shared on social media that the suspected killer was a radical Islamist migrant. This led to huge disturbances that spread out across the country with attacks on hotels housing asylum seekers and mosques.
At the time, police operatives had sought to hush the rumours which led to chaos saying the suspect had been born in Britain and had no terrorism link.
Rudakubana had also appeared in court in August after he was charged but has yet entered a plea to three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder.
