The English town of Southport was the scene of clashes between protesters and police the day after the death of at least three girls in a mass stabbing inflicted by an unnamed 17-year-old male.
At least one police van has been set ablaze by the crowds in Southport, which is north of Liverpool. A source describes the town as “quiet.”
While plenty of conjecture has been offered online as to the identity of the attacker and his family, both the AP and the Sun report that the suspect was born in Cardiff, Wales.
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Merseyside Police have overseen the investigation thus far. Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Bebe King, 6, are the identified victims. Ten more remain hospitalized since the attack.
“There has been much speculation and hypothesis around the status of a 17-year-old male who is currently in police custody and some individuals are using this to bring violence and disorder to our streets,” Assistant Chief Constable Alex Goss with the Merseyside Police said to the Associated Press.
“We have already said that the person arrested was born in the U.K. and speculation helps nobody at this time.”
The Sun reported that the parents of the suspected attacker, born in 2006, moved to the United Kingdom from Rwanda.
A neighbor of the family described them to the Sun as Christians, “very normal,” and having a “hard-working father and stay-at-home mother.”
Reform U.K. leader Nigel Farage took to social media earlier today in a video statement, positing, “I just wonder whether the truth is being withheld from us. I don’t know the answer to that, but I think it is a fair and legitimate question.”
“What I do know is something is going horribly wrong in our once beautiful country.”
It is unclear what punishments protesters may face. Police vans and garbage bins have been set ablaze in the melee.
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The mass stabbing and potential suspect are part of an active investigation.
Fox News’ Ian Leonard contributed to this article.