LONDON — The teenager accused of a stabbing attack that killed three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in England is accused of producing the deadly poison ricin and also faces terrorism charges for possessing a jihad training manual, police said Tuesday.

Merseyside Police said ricin was produced during a search of the home of 18-year-old Axel Rudakubana, who is accused of killing three girls and stabbing 10 people on July 29. Police also found a computer file containing an al-Qaeda training manual titled “Military Studies in Jihad Against Oppressors.”

Ricin is derived from the castor plant and is one of the world’s deadliest toxins. There is no known vaccine or antidote and it kills cells by preventing them from making proteins.

Rudakubana was charged with the stabbing in August; police stressed on Tuesday that it was not classified as a “terrorist incident” because the cause was not yet known. Police laid new charges on Tuesday, including producing poison and possessing a terrorism manual.

The stabbing occurred during the first week of the summer holidays as about two dozen teenage girls danced to Swift’s music at Hart Space, a community center in the seaside town of Southport in northwestern England.

Eyewitnesses said they heard screams and saw children covered in blood running from the studio, which was located behind a row of houses on a residential street.

Rudakubana was charged with three counts of murder in the death of 9-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar; Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7; and Bebe King, 6.

He is also charged with 10 counts of attempted murder of eight children and two adults who were seriously injured. Leanne Lucas, who ran the class, and John Hayes, who worked at a nearby business and rushed to help, were credited by police for trying to protect the children.

The stabbings sparked anger from far-right activists against immigrants and Muslims after social media misidentified the then-unnamed suspect as an asylum seeker who had recently arrived in the UK by boat.

A few hours after a community vigil to mourn the Southport victims, an unruly mob attacked a mosque near the dance studio, hurled bricks and beer bottles at law enforcement and set fire to a police van.

A week of riots spread across England and Northern Ireland. More than 1,200 people were arrested and hundreds imprisoned over the unrest.

Police later said in a statement that Rudakubana was born in Wales to Rwandan parents. British media reported that he was raised as a Christian.

He will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court by video on Wednesday. His trial on the murder charge is tentatively scheduled for January.

Dr. from the UK Health Security Agency. Renu Bindra said in a statement on Tuesday that there was “no evidence that any victims, responders or members of the public were exposed to ricin as part of or following the incident” and that the risk to the public was low. . No ricin was found at the scene of the knife attack.

Ricin is estimated to be 6,000 times more toxic than cyanide and can be fatal if inhaled, ingested, injected or ingested. Two millionths of an ounce (roughly the weight of a grain of salt) is enough to kill an adult.

In recent years, scores of people around the world have been prosecuted for attempting to use ricin in murder or terrorist plots, but examples of its successful lethal use are rare.

On October 29, 2024, police activity at Old School Close in the village of Banks, Lancashire, England, the home of 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana. Axel Rudakubana, 18, is accused of a knife attack that killed three girls. He is accused of producing the deadly poison ricin at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in England and faces terrorism charges. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP)

Professor Tim Atkins, Merseyside Chief Constable Serena Kennedy and Dr. Renu Bindra met with the press at Merseyside Police Headquarters in Liverpool, England, on Tuesday, October 29, 2024. Axel Rudakubana, 18, is accused of a stabbing attack that killed three people. Girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in England have been accused of producing the deadly poison ricin and face terrorism charges. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP)

Court artist Elizabeth Cook’s August 1, 2024 drawing shows Axel Rudakubana, center, covering his face as he appears in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court, England. (Elizabeth Cook/PA via AP)