A woman has been arrested for sharing a social media post inaccurately identifying the attacker behind the deadly stabbing at a childrens Taylor-Swift themed dance class at Southport, England. 

The 55-year-old woman was arrested by Cheshire Constabulary police on Thursday on suspicion of writing and sharing material to drum up racial hatred and false communications. The suspect is currently being held in police custody. 

“We have all seen the violent disorder that has taken place across the UK over the past week, much of which has been fuelled by malicious and inaccurate communications online,” the chief superintendent of the Cheshire police, Alison Ross, said.

“It’s a stark reminder of the dangers of posting information on social media platforms without checking the accuracy. It also acts as a warning that we are all accountable for our actions, whether that be online or in person,” she added. 

The attacker in question was recently identified as 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana, a Cardiff native born to Rwandan parents. He has been charged with the murder of three young girls and the stabbing of ten others in a violent incident described by the Southport police chief as “ferocious.”

The underage suspect, whose identity would otherwise be withheld until he turned 18, was named publicly due to the prevalence of unchecked “misinformation” online. Rumors had previously circulated that the assailant was an asylum seeker, a claim that the police had denied. 

The mass-stabbing event shook the nation and prompted fierce protests across the United Kingdom, largely led by nationalist, anti-immigrant groups. During one demonstration, a mob with alleged connections to the nationalist English Defense League pelted a local Southport mosque with bricks, forcing the imam to barricade himself inside the building. 

The arrest comes as the United Kingdom has been cracking down on the use of social media to incite hate and racial tensions. 

Just this week, Northamptonshire police arrested a 41-year-old woman on “suspicion of inciting racial hatred” via a social media post. The same day, a separate arrest was made at Cheshire after a 53-year-old woman posted a “hate-related” message on a community facebook group. 

“Anyone stirring up hateful or threatening activity on social media is potentially contributing to the violent disorder on our streets,” the director of public prosecutions of England and Wales, Stephen Parkinson, told PA Media on Wednesday. 

He also urged people to be “really aware” of what they share or retweet in relation to the protests because they could be “potentially committing criminal offenses themselves.”

“You may be committing a crime if you repost, repeat or amplify a message which is false, threatening, or stirs up racial/religious hatred,” he added.