Violent reaction in the UK to a massacre

LIVERPOOL, United Kingdom (EFE/EPA).— An anti-racism demonstration gathered yesterday in front of the Abdullah Quilliam mosque, the first mosque founded in England, in response to the threat of violence from the far right following the deadly attack in Southport.

The deaths of three girls in a multiple stabbing attack at a Southport leisure centre in north-west England on Monday by a 17-year-old boy who has been charged with murder, sparked a wave of violence in the United Kingdom, encouraged by far-right and Islamophobic groups.

The attack was committed against minors who were participating in a summer workshop with music by singer Taylor Swift.

Another group of protesters sparked riots yesterday in Sunderland, in the north-east of England, where several people set fire to a vehicle and threw stones and beer cans at the police.

Hundreds of people gathered in Keel Square in Southampton, some draped in English flags, chanting slogans in support of Tommy Robinson, founder of the far-right English Defence League, and hurling insults against Islam.

Police deployed mounted officers to control the situation. However, some protesters, many of whom had their faces covered, became violent by setting fire to a car, while others attacked a mosque with various objects.

North East England Mayor Kim McGuinness told reporters she was “horrified” by the scenes in Sunderland.

“Make no mistake, if your response to tragedy is to use it to commit acts of violence, to abuse others, to attack police and to damage property, you represent nothing but violence. You do not speak for Sunderland. You do not speak for this region,” she stressed.

Sunderland’s Omniplex cinema was forced to close its doors last night for safety reasons.

Yesterday’s incidents followed those recorded last Tuesday night in Southport, where a group of far-right supporters also set fire to a vehicle and attacked a mosque.

Far-right groups are reportedly planning further rallies this weekend in several cities, but police have already warned that they will deploy all necessary force to combat the violence.

In Monday’s attack at the Southport summer resort, in addition to three girls being killed, eight other children and two adults were injured when the attacker entered a Taylor Swift-themed dance class with a knife and began stabbing the children. The attacker was Axel Rudakubana, 17, born in Wales to Rwandan parents.

England Echoes of a tragedy

On Monday, a young man of Rwandan parents murdered three girls in Southport, England.

Visit

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited Southport (northwest England) yesterday for the second time this week following the multiple stabbings that occurred there, to lay flowers in honour of the victims.

Social tension

The prime minister met privately with Southport Mayor Steve Rotheram and Merseyside Police Chief Serena Kennedy, and then visited Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool to thank health workers for their work following Monday’s tragic incident. The mood is tense in several English cities.

Related