The teen who stabbed three girls in a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in July has been charged with a terror offence, for possessing a Jihadi training manual. Axel Rudakubana has also been charged with producing the deadly poison ricin which was later found in his home.
Ricin is derived from the castor bean plant and is one of the world’s deadliest toxins. It has no known vaccine or antidote and kills cells by preventing them from making proteins.
Act Of Terrorism?
Axel Rudakubana is 18 and was charged for killing three girls and stabbing 10 other people in July in Southport, England. Merseyside Police said that they also found a computer file with an Al-Qaeda training manual titled: “Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants: The Al-Qaeda Training Manual.”
The United Kingdom’s Crown Prosecution Service said in a statement that the charge is due to possession of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism.
Rudakubana has also been charged with 10 counts of attempted murder for the eight children and two adults who were injured. He will appear at Westminster Magistrates Court via video on Wednesday, police added.
Stabbing And Mass Protests
The stabbing occurred on the first week of summer vacation as young girls danced to music by Swift at Hart Space. Witnesses have described the incident when they heard screams and saw children covered in blood running from the studio.
In the days after the stabbing incident, protests erupted in several locations around the country. Over 1,000 people were arrested and hundreds were sentenced to jail. This is one of the worst disorders seen in the UK, in over a decade.
Several far-right activists used this incident to launch an anti-immigrant misinformation campaign. Misinformation was spread about Rudakubana being an asylum-seeker. This stoked outrage and agitators targeted hotels housing asylum-seekers.
