SOUTHPORT: A 17-year-old male was charged on Thursday (Aug 1) with the murder of three girls and the attempted murder of 10 more people in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class, UK prosecutors said.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it had authorised Merseyside Police to charge the suspect with three counts of murder over the deaths of Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine.

The suspect will appear at court in Liverpool, in northwest England, on Thursday.

The town of Southport, where Monday’s tragedy unfolded, was still reeling from the attack, and from violent clashes that broke out on Tuesday.

Bottles were thrown at police officers and several people were arrested at the rally, which police blamed on supporters of the far-right English Defence League (EDL), who it said had travelled from outside the area to the seaside town near Liverpool.

A 100-strong group attacked police and properties, throwing bricks at a mosque and setting vehicles and other objects on fire.

Police said 53 officers were wounded, at least eight of them seriously, and that they had arrested four suspects.

Police chief Serena Kennedy said her force was “absolutely planning” for further possible disturbances in the town, but Wednesday passed peacefully.

However, there were scuffles at a protest outside UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Downing Street residence, and in Hartlepool, in northeast England. The scenes of violence have been widely condemned, with Starmer vowing that those responsible would “face the full force of the law”.