Axel Rudakubana: How violence-obsessed teen unleashed horror at Southport children’s dance class

When Axel Rudakubana got into a taxi on July 29, 2024, he had no idea of ​​the horror he was about to create in the country town of Southport or the resulting backlash that would lead to riots across the UK.

Wearing a green hoodie, a surgical face mask and armed with a kitchen knife, the 17-year-old drove five miles from his family home to Hart Space, where he ambushed a class of girls aged six to 11 as they began their summer holidays at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on Merseyside.

In the crazy attack that took place around 11.50 am, it was stated that the attacker, described as a scene from a disaster movie, targeted the screaming girls, while a nearby teacher and grandfather bravely tried to defend them.

Two of the girls, six-year-old Bebe King and seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, were pronounced dead soon after; Nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar later died from her injuries in hospital.

Eight more children suffered stab wounds and five remained in critical condition.

On the first day of his trial at Liverpool Crown Court the following year, the violence-obsessed teenager pleaded guilty to murdering three girls after dramatically changing his plea.

He also pleaded guilty to 10 charges of attempted murder, as well as producing the deadly poison ricin and possessing a PDF file containing al-Qaeda material found by police.

The killer, who was excluded from mainstream school, had been referred to the government’s counter-terrorism prevention program several times before the attack due to concerns about his penchant for violence.

But the incident, which sparked a series of far-right riots and civil unrest across the country, was not classified as a terrorist attack because it was not inspired by any terrorist ideology, authorities said.

Searches of the three-bedroom house he shared with his father, minicab driver, older brother and stay-at-home mother revealed how the autistic teenager had become obsessed with violence.

Police discovered an unknown substance, later found to be homemade poison ricin, and a PDF file titled Military Studies in the Jihad Against Oppressors, Al Qaeda Training Manual.

Ricin is a plant toxin derived from the seeds of the castor oil plant. It is very toxic and even the smallest amounts can be fatal if inhaled, injected or swallowed.

Rudakubana was expelled from secondary school for allegedly carrying a knife and later returned to attack someone with a hockey stick.

An old classmate told me Guard While others say he’s a “ticking time bomb” Times He was an oddball student who disrupted class, so much so that the phrase “doing an Axel” became common in the classroom.

Just a week before his attack, he hired a taxi to take him to Range High School in Formby, from which he was reportedly expelled in 2019, but his father prevented him from going.

CPS Mersey-Cheshire deputy chief prosecutor Ursula Doyle described the attack on July 29 as a “meticulously planned attack” carried out by a killer with a “sickening” interest in death and violence.

Rudukabana’s youngest victim, Bebe, died after attending the event, which was promoted as a fun morning of bracelet making, dancing to Taylor Swift and yoga.

Her grieving parents spoke of their heartbreak, saying: “No words can describe the devastation that has hit our family as we struggle to cope with the loss of our little girl Bebe.”

Elsie Dot’s family said she was a “devoted Swiftie” who loved dancing and cheerleading.

“Elsie spent every day enjoying life with determination, persistence, love and kindness,” they said. “Elsie was a wonderful little girl. She had the ability to light up any room she walked into, she was truly unforgettable.”

At Alice’s funeral, where hundreds of people gathered, the nine-year-old’s parents questioned whether Alice had called out to them in her final moments.

“Have you ever thought about us, called us, or felt any pain?” they said. “We hope not, darling.”

They said they would “never get over this pain” but promised to “get all the answers” ​​about what happened.

A few hours after the tragedy, a violent protest broke out outside a mosque in Southport after misinformation about the identity of the young attacker spread online.

The unrest soon spread as far-right uprisings broke out across the country. More than 1,000 people were arrested and hundreds charged over the unrest, which included an offer to set fire to a hotel housing asylum seekers.

A judge later lifted reporting restrictions that allowed the press to name a suspect because of his age to prevent misinformation from continuing to spread “in a vacuum.”

The 18-year-old was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 52 years for the horrific attack.