A third child has died in Southport.

[Conniebygaslight]

Incomprehensible and senseless. Absolutely devastating. 💔💔💔

Well said! I wrote a post with the same sentiment but it was deleted! I said nothing out of turn. Who are these people that they can just wipe our opinions off the page?? ( this will e eyed nw, n doubt - they can’t abide criticism, however justified!

Yup. I had a pupil whose parents gifted him a crossbow for his Christmas. There were later reports of swan found dead with a crossbow bolt through its neck.

What exactly is gained by allowing him to not to be named?

The justice system has swung too far i favour of the guilty.

Loss of trust in the justice system can also lead to vigilante justice.

Name him.

His victims and their families pain are out there for all to see, their privacy intruded upon.

So should his be.

Catching a taxi to the event. Taking a knife with him then launching into what must have been a frenzied attack, in order to injure as many children and adults as he did, certainly shows intent.

i despair when I read some of these comments. I accept he may have MH issues but let’s not get carried away. He had a determination to kill as many children as possible and attacked the adults that tried to stop him.

He randomly took a taxi to a building full of women and girls?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-60236157
It happened in a Bolton park two years. The perpetrator was female, with known Schizophrenia. I don't know what the answer is.

Oh do come on.

I'm trying to not respond to this with anger.

He was at the scene and caught by the police. Having attacked as many people as he did, the evidence is clear.

I have no interest in defending him. I hope he gets a life sentence too. He does not deserve to see the light of day again.

Sorry, the gobbledygook in the brackets should have said….’this will be deleted now no doubt’

Goodness, there's enough mainstream info to know that he was compos mentis enough to book a taxi there. As for 'hard of thinking', I don't need to do much thinking at all to not be an apologist for a murderous male

I'm sick of excuses being made. The teenager that I mentioned upthread got a light sentence for a "first offence". He wore a ski mask and used a knife. He planned it, no doubt.

There was also an incident in 1994 when a man entered a classroom at Hall Garth secondary school armed with a gun and a knife, separated the boys from the girls and started stabbing the girls. One girl died. It would have been worse if two teachers hadn't managed to overpower him.

Margaret Atwood wrote about this, or at least something similar. Particution. A dystopian concept and one that has no place at all in civilised society.

How many more children will die? And you’ve got your photo and go away

A judge can decide to name him before the age of 18 and after considering the evidence. There's a good reason why child suspects are not named.

In all seriousness the banning of the placing of cookies and use of social media algorithms to show people more and more of things they are interested in would probably help. It's so easy to get radicalised in all sorts of ways.

Of course he had mental health problems. You don't go into a room full of little girls dancing and stab them if you are sane. Whether it was pure schizophrenia or some kind of perceived slight or injustice or peadophilia or whatever else reason he may have thought justified his actions, he was/is clearly completely fucked in the head.

I think if we can allow certain things to happen at 16, we should also allow the naming of suspects tbh.

Especially a spree killer.

I appreciate what you're saying, but the pendulumn has swung too far in favour of the guilty. Which we all know he is.

There is no evidence thus far he was mentally ill.

No one can say this and I wish they wouldn’t.

Whether the perpetrator has culpability for the atrocity is impacted in law by his mental state

Vigilante justice, including for the family members of the perpetrator, is far, far more likely if the perpetrator is named.

So you prefer that the majority should have to suffer, and they do suffer, on the altar of keeping these in school.

We need to acknowledge that there is such a thing as evil, not everything can be swept under the carpet of 'issues'. Were we back in the 1960s I wonder what excuses would be being trotted out for Myra Hindley and Ian Brady, she no doubt would be under his control etc etc..

There is also no evidence that he isn't.

None of us know the background yet. I'm doubtful even the police dealing with him have any sort of clear idea currently.

Absolutely heartbreaking. I shed a tear when I saw this.

This world is sick and terrifying😥

I think Jacinda Ahern had the right idea about not mentioning a perpetrator's name:

"He sought many things from his act of terror, but one was notoriety - that is why you will never hear me mention his name,"

I expect this perpetrator's family is in hiding right now. Naming him could cause harm to come to them. It will make zero difference to him and it would not bring those poor children back.