An 18-year-old has admitted to murdering three young girls and injuring 10 others during a shocking stabbing rampage at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport last July. The attack, carried out by Axel Rudakubana, triggered the UK’s most violent riots in a decade.
Rudakubana pleaded guilty at Liverpool Crown Court to three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder, and additional charges of producing the poison ricin and possessing an al-Qaida manual. He will be sentenced on Thursday, with life imprisonment likely.
The tragic incident occurred on July 29, 2024, when Rudakubana stormed into a dance and yoga class. The victims, aged six, seven, and nine, were fatally stabbed in what authorities described as a “ferocious attack.” Eight other girls, aged seven to 13, the instructor, and a bystander were also injured.
The names of the deceased are Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Bebe King, 6. Fifteen other girls, some as young as five, were present but escaped uninjured.
The killings led to a week of nationwide riots, fuelled by social media misinformation that falsely identified Rudakubana as a recent asylum-seeker. Born in Wales to Rwandan immigrant parents, he had no asylum-seeking history.
The riots saw violent mobs targeting mosques, migrant hotels, and police. Cars were set ablaze, and beer bottles and rocks were hurled in clashes across England and Northern Ireland. Over 1,200 arrests were made, with hundreds sentenced to prison terms of up to nine years.
Defence lawyer Stanley Reiz said Rudakubana’s mental health would be a factor during sentencing. Prosecutors have yet to establish a clear motive, and police have not classified the attack as terrorism.
Rudakubana remained uncooperative during proceedings, refusing to identify himself. His possession of ricin and a terrorism-related manual raised further concerns but has not yet linked him to extremist acts.
Since July, the Southport community has struggled to come to terms with the tragedy and its devastating impact.