King Charles meets survivors of Southport knife attack, thanks emergency workers

Aug. 20 (UPI) -- Britain's King Charles III was en route to Southport in the north of the country Tuesday to meet survivors of a stabbing rampage that killed three young girls and injured 10 other people last month, triggering riots that spread across England and Northern Ireland.

On his first visit since the tragedy, Charles will personally thank emergency workers and hear from people affected by the killings and subsequent violent disorder, including private visits with some of the children who survived the attack at the Taylor Swift -themed dance class, Buckingham Palace said.

The king, who issued a statement at the time expressing " profound shock ," will meet with members of the Southport community, local groups and religious leaders to underscore his steadfast support for those affected by the July 29 attack and the violence and disorder that came after.

He is scheduled to meet with the families of Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice Aguiar, 9, -- who were killed by an assailant who entered the studio where the class was being held and began stabbing children -- in London on Wednesday.

Charles later called for unity after the incident spiraled into racially charged unrest on the streets of dozens of cities, telling the prime minister and policing leaders he hoped that "shared values of mutual respect and understanding would strengthen and unite the nation."

The unrest began when a vigil in Southport for the victims on the evening of July 30 was hijacked by far-right extremists fueled by disinformation circulated online falsely stating that the perpetrator was an asylum seeker and a Muslim.

A riot ensued with pitch battles with police as they tried to keep a mob from storming the town's mosque. More than 50 police officers were injured.

Axel Muganwa Rudakubana,18, of Banks in Lancashire, was charged July 31 with three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a bladed weapon.