Dozens of angry protesters rioted outside a mosque in the seaside city after British police said there was no immediate evidence of terrorism in a stabbing attack on girls attending a dance class.
Witnesses said bloodied children were seen running from the dance studio when they were attacked by a hooded 17-year-old man. Two children were initially declared dead, but a third died the next day. Around a dozen people were injured.
“He was a good, lively kid, a normal kid.”
Police have arrested a suspect but say they have no evidence yet that terrorism was a motive. The boy was born in Cardiff to Rwandan immigrant parents, according to authorities and media reports. Investigators are reviewing recordings from the suspect’s devices to try to establish a motive.
Others accused authorities of trying to conceal the identity and motive of the attackers before large crowds gathered outside the town’s mosque.
Police tried to control the crowd, but the mob set police vehicles on fire and Threw something The officers were shot at, one of them suffering a broken nose.
“It is heartbreaking to see something like this happening in a community that has been devastated by the tragic loss of three young lives,” Deputy Superintendent Alex Goss said. In a statement. “Yesterday our officers and members of other emergency services faced one of the most challenging situations they will ever face and tonight they are under attack as they try to prevent chaos.
A neighbour who knew the suspect’s family described them as “good people” and said he was shocked by the attack.
Chico Mbakwe, a 79-year-old man who taught the suspect karate as a child, remembers him as a normal guy. comment To the Guardian.
“He was a normal, good kid with a lot of energy,” Mbakwe says. “I remember him because after his father left for my other dojo, he continued to train with us for about three months.”
He also said he was worried for his grandchildren about the recent increase in knife crime.
“The father was just a nice, normal guy and the son was just a normal five-year-old,” he added.
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