Three weeks after the knife attack in which three girls were killed and which led to several days of riots in England, King Charles III visited Southport where he met, on Tuesday, August 20, children who survived the attack.
Upon his arrival in the city in the northwest of England, the British sovereign stopped in front of the flowers and stuffed animals left in front of the town hall in memory of the victims. He greeted the large crowd, many of them children, before spending forty-five minutes with those who survived the attack. The king is now due to speak with the families of the three girls killed on Wednesday in London, according to the British PA news agency.
The attack occurred on July 29 during a dance and yoga class for children based on the world of American singer Taylor Swift. Three girls aged 6, 7 and 9 were killed. Eight other children were injured as well as two adults who were trying to protect them. All have now been released from the hospital. A suspect, aged 17 at the time of the incident and now an adult, was arrested on the spot.
According to Buckingham Palace, the king's visit was aimed at “express support for those affected by the July 29 attack and the subsequent riots in the city”as well as to thank emergency services and law enforcement. During his visit, Charles III, who is currently on holiday at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, met with representatives of the emergency services, police, fire brigade and local community groups.
Online Rumors and Riots
Charles III had been under pressure to speak out about the violence that erupted in the wake of the attack. The day after the girls' murders, violent clashes broke out between protesters and police in Southport, particularly near the local mosque, which was targeted.
A week of racist and Islamophobic riots followed in cities across England and Northern Ireland, fuelled by far-right agitators amid social media rumours about the suspect, initially reported as a Muslim asylum seeker who had arrived by boat. He turned out to be a teenager, Axel Rudakubana, born in Cardiff, Wales, to a family that, according to media reports, originated from Rwanda, a largely Christian country. His motives are unknown, but the terrorist motive has not been investigated.
The king and his wife, Camilla, quickly issued a message of condolences to the victims' families after the attack. Charles III then remained silent during the riots that targeted mosques and hotels housing migrants and were marked by ransacking and looting of shops and public services.
More than 120 convictions
Once calm had returned, after talks with police officials on August 9, Charles III finally thanked the police in the face of the violence. “of a small number” and called for unity. “The King said he was greatly encouraged by the many examples of solidarity.”Buckingham Palace had then specified.
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The ten days of silence of the king, who was quick to celebrate the multiculturalism of the United Kingdom, had been compared to the neutrality to which his mother, Elizabeth II, was fiercely attached, to the point that she had sometimes been accused of lacking empathy. She had not visited the scene of the riots that followed the death of a young mixed-race man, Mark Duggan, who was killed by the police in 2011 in north London.
Around 500 people have since been charged with online violence or incitement to hatred, resulting in more than 120 convictions, mostly prison sentences.
Source: Lemonde
