Teen accused in stabbing rampage who killed three girls during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in England, was accused of producing the deadly poison ricin and now faces a terrorist offense for possessing a jihadist training manual, it has been announced Tuesday the police.
Axel Rudakubana, 18 years old, who is accused of murdering three girls And stabbing 10 other people in July, produced the deadly poison, ricin, which was later found at his home, Merseyside Police said. Police also discovered that he had a computer file containing an Al-Qaeda training manual titled: “Military Studies in Jihad Against Tyrants: The Al-Qaeda Training Manual.”
The new charges against Rudakubana relate to the alleged manufacture of a biological toxin, ricin, which violates a law banning biological weapons in the United Kingdom, and the “possession of information, namely a pdf file… of a type likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing biological weapons.” an act of terrorism,” police said. The latter charge is prohibited under the UK’s terrorism law.
Ricin is derived from the castor bean and is one of the deadliest toxins in the world. There is no known vaccine or antidote and kills cells by stopping them from making proteins.
Police stressed that the July attack had not been classified as a “terrorist incident,” which would require knowing the motive.
Rudakubana, who police say was born in Wales, already faces three counts of murder following the July deaths of Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and of six-year-old Bebe King in the seaside town of Southport in northwest England.
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He was also charged with 10 counts of attempted murder for the eight children and two injured adults.
The stabbing attacks were used by far-right activists to stoke anger against immigrants and Muslims after misinformation spread on social media identifying him as an asylum seeker and giving a name wrong.
The violence spread from Southport and led to riots across England and Northern Ireland which lasted for a week.
In a statement released Tuesday, Police Chief Serena Kennedy urged the public not to engage in speculation about the case.
“Don’t believe everything you read on social media,” Kennedy said. “We must not lose sight of the families of Elsie, Bebe and Alice, who are still grieving, as well as the families of the children and adults who were hurt and affected by what happened that day . We must all do what it takes to ensure that the justice process is not compromised.