A police van has been set alight, with bottles and wheelie bins thrown at officers, in the clashes in Southport, Merseyside in northwest England, the BBC reported.
Police said the unrest on Tuesday evening broke out after calls for a protest near a mosque close to where the attack happened.
“Items” were thrown towards a local mosque, in scenes they say are “sickening to see … within a community that has been devastated by the tragic loss of three young lives,” police said in a statement.
“As a result, an officer has suffered a suspected broken nose and police vehicles have been damaged and set alight,” said the statement.
Earlier, hundreds gathered for a vigil to remember the casualties of the knife attack on Monday.
Police called for an end to speculation about the attacker’s identity. Assistant Chief Constable Alex Goss said: “There has been much speculation and hypothesis around the status of a 17-year-old male who is currently in police custody and some individuals are using this to bring violence and disorder to our streets.”
“We have already said that the person arrested was born in the UK and speculation helps nobody at this time.”
Three children have been killed in the knife attack on Monday.
“Sadly we can confirm that a third child has passed away as a result of injuries sustained in a knife attack in Southport yesterday morning,” Merseyside Police said in an earlier statement on Tuesday.
The police said it’s a nine-year-old girl who died in hospital in the early hours of this morning. They also revealed that the children who died on Monday were girls aged six and seven.
“Eight other children suffered stab wounds sustained during the attack, and five of them are in critical condition,” read the statement.
“Two adults are also in critical condition after being injured during the incident,” it added.
The knife attack was reported at around 11:50 a.m. (1050 GMT) on Monday in a property on Hart Street, Southport.
It is understood that the children were attending classes at the “Taylor Swift Yoga and Dance Workshop” for minors aged seven to 11 when the attacker entered. Among the injured are the two said adults who were intervening in the attack.
A 17-year-old boy from Banks in Lancashire has been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. The motivation behind the attack remains unclear.
