Claim: A video and photograph show Southport stabbing suspect.
Fact: The video and photo actually depict an attacker who knifed toddlers in the French mountain town of Annecy in June 2023.
Content Warning: Some posts linked in this article include graphic images of children which some readers may find distressing.
In the wake of the stabbings in Southport on Monday, a X user shared (archive) images and videos with the caption: “Two children were killed, & nine were injured during a stabbing attack in Southport #England Monday morning at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event
Suspect, Ali-Al-Shakati, A 17-year-old boy from Banks in Lancashire, who is originally from Cardiff in Wales https://thinkking.vn/video-southport-stabbing-reddit-original/”.
In response to a viral X post, another X user shared the same photo (archived) on X with the caption: “This is the supposed 17 year old Southport stabber. A desperate attempt by Yvette Cooper to put a lid on the fact that he’s an illegal immigrant who came over on a boat last year”.
What Happened in Southport?
According to the BBC, three young girls were killed in a brutal knife attack during a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga event in Southport on 29 July.
The victims have been identified by the police as six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar. The BBC added that eight more children sustained injuries, with five in critical condition, along with two adults who also suffered critical injuries, according to Merseyside Police.
During a press conference on 29 July, The Merseyside police chief constable Serena Kennedy informed the media that the suspect involved in the Southport stabbings is, “A 17-year-old boy from Banks, Lancashire, had been arrested on suspicion of murder. She added that he was originally from Cardiff, south Wales.”
In addition, the Merseyside Police released a statement, “A name has been shared on social media in connection with the suspect in the incident in Southport. This name is incorrect and we would urge people not to speculate on details of the incident while the investigation is ongoing”.
The BBC also reported that the suspect’s parents are from Rwanda and moved to the Southport area in 2013.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check initially took note of the replies to the post in the claim, where several X users pointed out that the man in the video is the attacker responsible for the knife attack in France. Their replies can be seen here and here. One of the replies specifically identified the attacker as a Syrian refugee.
The image of the attacker in the claim was shared in another post on X (archive) with the caption: “THIS IS NOT THE SOUTHPORT STABBER.
I’m guilty of this myself. Many people are sharing this as the suspect identified in the Stockport stabbing. He is NOT the stabber”.
Archived post can be seen here.
We then conducted a reverse-image search that led us to a video posted by Sky News on 9 June 2023, in which the attacker atof the French playground can be seen running around the playground with a knife in his hand.
On 8 June 2023, the French Prime Minister identified the attacker as a Syrian refugee in his early 30s in Sweden who attacked toddlers at a park in Annecy. The French prime minister and police sources described him as a Christian who deliberately targeted toddlers, shouting “in the name of Jesus Christ,” according to a report by The Guardian.
An article published by the BBC further added that the French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne and Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin visited the scene of the attack. Ms. Borne informed a news conference that the attacker has “no criminal or psychiatric record”. Annecy prosecutor Line Bonnet-Mathis informed reporters that the young victims ranged from 22 months old to three years and said, “doesn’t seem to be any kind of terrorist motivation”, the same report detailed.
Sky News also published several photos of the location of the attack along with videos of the attacker that were recorded by eyewitnesses and bystanders, in a detailed explainer. The first photo in the report resembles the one being shared online, with the only difference being that the attacker’s face is turned to the right in the report’s photo. The report revealed that the attack happened in Le Paquier park, which is between the town centre and the northwestern corner of Lake Annecy. Sky News international correspondent John Sparks says it “would be very busy at this time of year with tourists and residents out on the streets”. A video embedded in the article shows two members of the public with their rucksacks appear to try to stop the attacker or slow down his progress.
Virality:
The claim was shared on X here, here and here. The archived post can be seen here, here, and here.
On Facebook, it has been shared here, here, and here.
Conclusion: A post claiming to show a video of the stabbing attack in Southport, along with an image of the suspect, is false. The video actually depicts an incident from June 2023 in Annecy, France, while the image shows the Syrian refugee who was identified as the attacker then. Both visuals have no link to the stabbings which took place in Southport on 29 July 2024.
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Background image in cover photo: Getty Images
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