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Timeline of events relating to the Southport stabbings
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Timeline of events relating to the Southport stabbings

The Southport stabbing suspect has been charged with producing a deadly poison and a terrorist offence, police said.

Axel Rudakubana is already accused of the murders of Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, who were fatally stabbed during the Taylor Swift-themed dance class on July 29, and 10 counts of attempted murder.

Here is a timeline of events related to the case.

– 2002: Alphonse, Rudakubana’s father, leaves Rwanda to settle in the United Kingdom, according to an interview he gave to his local Southport newspaper in 2015.

– August 7, 2006: Birth of Rudakubana in Cardiff, Wales.

– 2013: The family, made up of Rudakubana’s father, mother and older brother, leaves Wales to settle in Banks in Lancashire, a few kilometers from Southport.

– July 29, 2024: Shortly before midday, a man with a knife enters a dance class at Hart Space, in Hart Street, Southport. Bebe, Elsie and Alice are mortally wounded. Eight other children were injured, as were teacher Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes. Police say they arrested a man and seized a knife. Within hours, claims spread online that the suspect was an asylum seeker who arrived in the UK by boat in 2023. Some claims include an alleged identity.

Head shots of three girls
Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice Dasilva Aguiar (family documents/Merseyside Police)

– July 30, 2024: In the evening, a peaceful vigil takes place outside the Atkinson Arts Hall in Southport, where flowers are laid in memory of those who have died. Shortly after the vigil, a separate protest began outside the town’s mosque on St Luke’s Road. People throw objects at the mosque, property is damaged and police vehicles are set on fire. Merseyside Police said eight officers were seriously injured.

– July 31, 2024: Protesters gather in Whitehall, London, for an “Enough is Enough” demonstration. Flares and cans were thrown at police and more than 100 people were arrested. Troubles also broke out in Hartlepool, County Durham and Aldershot, Hampshire.

– August 1, 2024: Police announce that Rudakubana has been charged with the murders of Bebe, Elsie Dot and Alice, 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a sharp article. He is not being named by police because of his age. He appeared at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court and Liverpool’s honorary secretary, Andrew Menary KC, ruled that he could be appointed as he was due to turn 18 in a week’s time. A tentative trial date is set for January and the case is adjourned. Later that evening, protesters gather outside a hotel in Newton Heath, Manchester.

– August 2, 2024: Three police officers are hospitalized after unrest in Sunderland.

Citizens' advice office damaged by fire
A Citizen’s Advice Bureau office damaged by fire in Sunderland following protests in the city (Tom Wilkinson/PA)

– August 3, 2024: Scenes of violence occur during planned protests across the UK, including in Liverpool, Hull, Nottingham and Belfast.

– August 4, 2024: The disorder continues, notably outside a Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, where masked protesters throw pieces of wood and spray fire extinguishers at police officers.

– August 5, 2024: The government holds an emergency Cobra meeting following the unrest and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer pledges to “step up criminal justice”. That evening, a peaceful vigil was held in Southport, a week after the murders. Police are dealing with unrest in Plymouth, Devon and Darlington, County Durham.

– August 7, 2024: Prison sentences for those involved in the unrest begin to be handed down. Derek Drummond, 58, was the first person to be jailed for violent disorder at Liverpool Crown Court, where he was sentenced to three years. More than 100 protests are planned across the country, as well as counter-protests, but the majority of police forces report very few problems.

– October 29, 2024: Merseyside Police announce that Rudakubana will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court via video link the following day, charged with producing a biological toxin, Ricin, and possessing information likely to be useful to an person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism. A tentative trial date has been set for January next year.