Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Days after British-Pakistani radical Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary, whose followers have been linked to numerous plots around the world, was sentenced to life imprisonment on Tuesday for directing a terrorist organization, and the killing of three children, an angry mob attacked a mosque and injured nearly 40 policemen, the media reported on Wednesday.
The new Liberal Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who had earlier visited the site of Monday’s brutal stabbing attack on a dance studio on Hart Street, condemned the mobs for hijacking the vigil and insulting the grieving community with their actions.
Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, Bebe King, 6, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, were named as the victims of the fatal stabbing. Eight others were seriously injured, five of whom remain in critical condition in hospital.
Merseyside Police said it was currently not treating the incident as “terror-related.”
The people of Southport are reeling after the horror inflicted on them on Tuesday. They deserve our support and our respect, said Starmer.
According to reports, a far-right mob targeted a mosque in north-west England that saw three young girls fatally stabbed during a peaceful vigil in their memory and around 40 police officers suffered injuries in the disorder.
Misinformation being spread on social media about the ethnicity and religion of the 17-year-old male suspect in police custody led to the rioting at the mosque in Southport on Tuesday night.
The police said 22 of its officers sustained serious injuries, including fractures, lacerations, a suspected broken nose, and concussion. The rioters set people’s cars alight, threw bricks at the local mosque, damaged a local convenience store, and set large refuse bins on fire.
Strict legal orders have been enforced in the affected area to minimize serious violence and give additional powers to officers to tackle anti-social behavior.
The police got strong support from the local community, who believed the English Defence League (EDL) supporting mob was whipped up largely from outside the town.
The disorder flared up after thousands gathered at the peace vigil to pay tribute to three girls killed and pray for those fighting for their lives in the knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club dance event at Hart Street Community Center.
Meanwhile, two adults who were critically injured in the attack have been named locally as yoga teacher Leanne Lucas, who co-organized the dance session for a group of six to 11-year-olds, and John Hayes, who works at the Hart Space where the stabbings took place.
“It is extremely important that people don’t spread damaging misinformation online. False information has already been extensively shared in the last 24 hours, urged UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.
More than 2,15,000 pounds have been raised by Taylor Swift fans for the funerals of the children who were killed and for the families of the injured.
The money will also go to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital where some of the victims are being treated.