UK girls’ murders should have been prevented: inquiry
The murder of three teenage girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event in Britain in 2024 should have been prevented but there was a “fundamental failure” by government agencies and the killer’s parents to recognize the risk she posed and act on it, an investigation says.
Axel Rudakubana, then 17, went on a frenzied knife attack in Southport, northern England, on July 29, 2024, killing six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar. Rudakubana also injured 10 people in the attack, which was followed by days of riots across the country.
He was sentenced to at least 52 years in prison after confessing to the murders shortly before his trial in 2025.
Describing the murders as “one of the darkest moments in recent national memory”, the head of the inquiry, Adrian Fulford, said there were five significant failings before the attack.
These include the failure of institutions including the police, the counter-radicalization plan Prevent and social services to “own the risk” posed by Rudakubana, despite many warning signs, Fulford said on Monday.
He said Rudakubana’s parents “bear significant responsibility” for failing to warn authorities about the risk their son posed.
Fulford also noted that information sharing between agencies was poor, that Rudakubana’s autism was used “as an explanation, even an excuse, for his behavior” and that his online activities were not monitored.
Rudakubana was referred to Prevent three times, first in December 2019 after taking a knife to school and researching school shootings online.
He also went to his previous school that month with a hockey stick and a knife, which Fulford described as “a watershed incident”.
“If appropriate regulations and reasonable resources had been in place to address the risk he (Rudakubana) posed to others from December 2019, it is likely the tragedy would not have occurred,” Fulford said. he said.
He called for a significant change in society’s approach to “individuals obsessed with violence”.
The second phase of the investigation will look more broadly at the issue of child violence, which is of growing concern to British authorities.
The second stage will also consider whether there are additional powers to restrict or monitor the internet access of young people who show signs of an interest in violence, in addition to those in Britain’s Online Safety Act, Fulford said.
When Prime Minister Keir Starmer ordered the investigation, he said the findings could lead to changes to terrorism laws.
Starmer said Monday’s report was “deeply disturbing” and said: “I am determined to make the fundamental changes necessary to keep the public safe.”
