Violent crowd clashes with UK police after young girls killed

By Temilade Adelaja

SOUTHPORT, England (Reuters) - A large crowd of anti-Muslim protesters clashed with police on Tuesday in a northern English town where three girls were stabbed to death and five other children critically wounded during an attack on a Taylor Swift-themed event on Monday.

The horrific stabbing incident in Southport, a quiet seaside town north of Liverpool, has shocked the nation. Police have said it was not linked to terrorism and that the suspect was born in the UK.

Yet far-right groups have stoked speculation that the teenage suspect was involved with Islam, and police said Tuesday's violence erupted when several hundred people began to throw items at a mosque. Police linked the crowd to the English Defence League, a group which has sometimes staged violent demonstrations against Islam.

Police vehicles were damaged and set alight, officers were pelted by bricks and large garbage containers. One video posted online showed the crowd chanting "we want our country back".

Away from the violence, hundreds had gathered for an emotional vigil to pay tribute to those killed in the attack, laying flowers and toys.

"The people of Southport are reeling after the horror inflicted on them yesterday. They deserve our support and our respect," Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.

"Those who have hijacked the vigil for the victims with violence and thuggery have insulted the community as it grieves. They will feel the full force of the law."

A 17-year-old male is currently in police custody on suspicion of murder and attempted murder after the bloody rampage at a "Taylor Swift yoga and dance workshop", a summer vacation event for children aged 6 to 11.

Witnesses described the attack as being like a scene from a horror film. In addition to the three deaths, eight children suffered stab wounds. Five of them and two adults who had tried to protect them remain in a critical condition.

The police have said the motive remained unclear and have not given any details about the suspect, beyond saying he was born in Wales and lived in a village nearby.

"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," said Assistant Chief Constable Alex Goss.

"We have already said that the person arrested was born in the UK and speculation helps nobody at this time."

Goss and local politicians said those clashing with police involved many from outside the area, and the Liverpool Region Mosque Network said a minority of people were trying to use the incident to spread hatred.

"This evening we have seen distressing scenes outside Southport Mosque with angry protesters gathering outside," it said in a statement. "This is causing further fear and anxiety within our communities,"

Starmer had earlier paid a sombre visit to the town to lay flowers, and King Charles and his family have expressed their horror. U.S. singer Swift herself wrote on Instagram that she was "just completely in shock".

JUST LITTLE KIDS

"These were just little kids at a dance class. I am at a complete loss for how to ever convey my sympathies to these families," she said.

Her fans have raised more than 250,000 pounds ($320,850)online to help families of the victims and for the hospital where some of the children were being treated.

The three girls who died in the attack were named as Bebe King, aged 6, 7-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, aged 9, whose parents are Portuguese.

"Keep smiling and dancing like you love to do our Princess, like we said before to you, you're always our princess and no one would change that. Love from Your Hero Daddy and Mummy," Aguiar's family said in a statement.

There has been increasing concern at rising levels of stabbings and knife crime in Britain, and the Southport attack follows other recent similar, indiscriminate rampages.

"I'm absolutely determined that my government will get to grips with it," Starmer said.

($1 = 0.7798 pounds)

(Writing by Michael Holden in London, additional reporting by William James; Editing by Kylie MacLellan, Ros Russell and David Gregorio)