British teenager accused of killing three girls also made ricin, police say, had an al-Qaeda manual

A teenager accused of murdering three young girls in a knife attack in northern England in July has also been charged with a terror offense and producing the deadly poison ricin, police and prosecutors said on Tuesday.

Axel Rudakubana, 18, is accused of killing the girls, aged between six and nine, at a Taylor Swift-style dance event in Southport, killings that shocked Britain and sparked days of unrest.

Police said the incident was still not being classified as terrorist, but said after searches of his home that Rudakubana had now been charged with producing the deadly biological toxin ricin and possessing an al-Qaeda training manual.

“We have worked extensively with partners to determine that there is a low to very low risk to the public – and I want to make that assurance clear today,” Merseyside Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said. She said no ricin was found at the scene of the stabbing.

Rudakubana was charged in August but has yet to enter a plea on three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder. He will appear at London's Westminster Magistrates Court on Wednesday charged with the two new offences.

There was widespread unrest in Southport after false reports spread on social media that the alleged murderer was a radical Islamist migrant. The unrest spread across Britain, with attacks on mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers.