No, the Southport, U.K., attack suspect was not an illegal immigrant

Context

On July 29, 2024, in Southport, Merseyside, U.K., a knife attack occurred at a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga class for children aged six to ten. At the time of publishing, three young girls had died, with eight others injured, some in a critical condition. Two adults also suffered injuries.

Following the attack, police arrested a 17-year-old male from Banks, Lancashire, on suspicion of murder. He has since been charged.

On social media, such as X (previously Twitter) and TikTok, users quickly claimed that the attacker was an "illegal immigrant," with others using adjacent labels claiming the attacker was an "asylum seeker." Other widely circulated claims stated that the attacker is called "Ali Al Shakati." Examples of the posts are archived here, here, here, and here.

On July 30, a vigil was held outside a cultural center in Southport. Hundreds of people gathered, laid flowers, lit candles, and observed a minute of silence. 

Following the rumors and misinformation that the attacker was an immigrant and a Muslim, groups, thought to include far-right English Defence League members, arrived at Southport and clashed with police. These groups threw items toward a local mosque, set fire to a police van, looted businesses, and attacked police and locals. Over a dozen police officers were injured.  

However, the suspect is not an illegal immigrant, and no information about their religious beliefs has been revealed at the time of publishing.

In fact

The suspect is not an illegal immigrant and was born in the U.K. Merseyside Police confirmed in a statement that the suspect was born in Cardiff, Wales, but currently lives in Banks in the north of Lancashire. Therefore, the suspect in the attack is not an illegal immigrant, nor did he come to the U.K. via small boats or the English Channel.

At the time, for legal reasons, the suspect could not be named. 

In a very rare move, Judge Andrew Menary KC made a specific ruling on August 1, 2024, that the suspect could be named as Axel Rudakubana. The judge said the decision was made "principally because he is 18 in six days' time," and that "continuing to prevent the full reporting has the disadvantage of allowing others to spread misinformation, in a vacuum."

Merseyside Police have previously addressed the fact that the name circulated online, referring to "Ali Al Shakati," was false. A police spokesperson also confirmed to Logically Facts that the name stated is "not the suspect's name." 

The first instance of the false claim that could be found came from the website Channel 3 Now, headlined "17-year-old Ali Al-Shakati arrested in connection with stabbings in Southport, England." This article (archived here) further claimed that he "came to the U.K. by boat last year" and was on an MI6 watch list. The website has since updated the article, removing these claims. 

There is also no evidence that the suspect was on a watchlist. These claims are unsubstantiated at the time of reporting. Additionally, it is not MI6 that investigates domestic counter-terrorism cases; it is MI5. 

The police have also stated that they are not looking for anyone else in connection to the attack, but the motives are unclear. They are not currently treating the event as a terror-related incident. 

At the time of publishing, there is no information on the suspect's religious beliefs or if the attack was motivated by religion.

The verdict

The suspect was born in Cardiff, U.K., and is not an illegal immigrant. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.

(Update: This fact-check was updated on August 1, 2024, to reflect the fact the person charged has been named)