LONDON: A teenager accused of 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, police and prosecutors said on Tuesday (Oct 29).
Axel Rudakubana, 18, is accused of killing the three young girls aged between six and nine at a Taylor Swift dance event in Southport, murders which shocked the nation and provoked days of rioting across the country.
Police 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.
“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,” said Merseyside Chief Constable Serena Kennedy.
She said no ricin was discovered at the scene of the Southport stabbings.
Large disturbances broke out in the town after information was spread on social media that the suspected killer was a radical Islamist migrant, and the disturbances spread across the country with attacks on hotels housing asylum seekers and mosques.
