Verdict against 12-year-old is imminent: Trial for riot to continue

On July 29, six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar were killed in a stabbing attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga event. Eight other children and two adults were injured.

Later that day, police said they had arrested a 17-year-old from a nearby village and did not consider the incident to be terrorist-related.

Almost immediately after the attack, social media posts falsely speculated that the suspect was an asylum seeker who arrived in the UK by boat in 2023, using a false name that was widely circulated. There were also unsubstantiated rumors that he was Muslim.

In fact, the suspect was born in Wales to Rwandan parents.

The following evening, more than a thousand people attended a vigil for the victims in Southport. Violence later broke out in the town, leading to a riot.

The following day, violent protests broke out in London, Hartlepool and Manchester, which police linked to Southport. More protests occurred throughout the week, many of them targeting mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers.