Teenager stabbed at British dance class remains silent in court amid new poison and terrorism charges

LONDON (AP) — The teenager accused of killing three girls and wounding 10 others in a stabbing attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class refused to speak as he appeared in court Wednesday to face new charges of possession of deadly poison and possession of terrorism. Charge related to possession of Al Qaeda manual.

Appearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court by video link from Belmarsh prison in south London, Axel Rudakubana, 18, pulled his gray tracksuit top over his nose and did not confirm his name or answer other questions.

“Mr. Defense lawyer Stan Reiz said Rudakubana had also remained silent in previous hearings. “He chose not to answer the question for his own reasons.”

Rudakubana facing Accused of killing three girls and the suspect who stabbed 10 more people on July 29 were indicted Tuesday on additional charges of production of biological toxins and ricin and possession of information that could be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit a terrorist act.

Merseyside Police said they found the poison and a document on his computer containing an Al Qaeda training manual titled “Military Studies in Jihad Against Oppressors” when they searched his home after the July 29 attack.

Ricin is derived from the castor plant and is one of the world’s deadliest toxins. There is no known vaccine or antidote and it kills cells by preventing them from making proteins.

Rudakubana was accused of stabbings in the Southport area in August, which police stressed on Tuesday were not classed as a “terrorist incident” because the motive was not yet known.

The killings occurred during the first week of summer vacation as nearly two dozen teenage girls danced to Swift’s music at Hart Space, a community center that hosts everything from pregnancy workshops to women’s boot camps.

Rudakubana was charged with three counts of murder in the deaths of 9-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 7-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and 6-year-old Bebe King in the seaside town of Southport in northwestern England.

He is also charged with 10 counts of attempted murder of eight children and two adults who were seriously injured. Leanne Lucas, who ran the class, and John Hayes, who worked at a nearby business and rushed to help, were credited by police for trying to protect the children.

The stabbings sparked social media outrage from far-right activists against immigrants and Muslims ill-defined The suspect, whose name was not disclosed at the time, was said to be an asylum seeker who had recently arrived in Britain by boat.

A few hours after a community vigil to mourn the Southport victims, an unruly mob attacked a mosque near the dance studio, throwing bricks and beer bottles at law enforcement and setting fire to a police van.

Riots spread across England and Northern Ireland it took a week. More than 1,200 people were arrested and hundreds imprisoned for the disorder.

Police later said in a statement that Rudakubana was born in Wales to Rwandan parents. British media reported that he was raised as a Christian.

The judge ordered the new charges to be sent to Liverpool Crown Court; where prosecutors will seek to combine them with murder and attempted murder charges. He will have a hearing in Liverpool on November 13.