On Monday, people in the Merseyside seaside town of Southport were enjoying the sun and the first week of the summer holidays. At a community centre, away from the beach and pier, about 20 girls were taking part in a summer dance class, learning choreography to their favourite Taylor Swift songs.
But at midday, when the parents came to pick up their daughters, people in the area heard terrifying screams. A gunman entered the classroom and stabbed three girls to death, wounded eight others, and left two adults seriously injured. A 17-year-old boy was arrested.
Shock and grief shook the city, but before many had time to recover from the shock, rumours and misinformation about the killer began to spread on social media. Contrary to police information, social media posts claimed the suspect had arrived in the UK on a small boat, was a migrant and was on a terror watch list.
The following evening a vigil was held for the victims, with 1,000 people from the town gathering to mourn, but another vigil began shortly after. Josh Hallidaywas in Southport. He described how a group of young people arrived outside a local mosque. Soon a police car was set on fire, the mosque was attacked, bricks were thrown and shops were looted. The mob attacked police, injuring over 50 officers.
What was behind it? Joe Mulhall, research director at Hope Not Hate, who monitors far-right activists, said false narratives were circulated on social media immediately after the attacks on the girls and amplified by prominent figures. He said he was shocked by the speed and intensity of the reaction, and believes the far-right sees the tragedy as an opportunity to spread division. Josh tell Helen Pidd How are the townspeople dealing with this chaos on top of the horrors they’ve already endured?
Photo: Peter Powell/AFP/Getty Images
