An 18-year-old has admitted to murdering three young ladies and injuring 10 people during a startling stabbing spree at a Taylor Swift-themed dance school in Southport past July. The strike, carried out by Axel Rudakubana, triggered the UK’s most violent protests in a century.
Rudakubana pleaded guilty at Liverpool Crown Court to three counts of death, 10 counts of attempted murder, and additional costs of producing the venom toxins and possessing an al-Qaida guide. He may be sentenced on Thursday, with life prison possible.
The tragic event occurred on July 29, 2024, when Rudakubana stormed into a dance and yoga school. The patients, aged six, seven, and nine, were fatally stabbed in what officials described as a “ferocious harm. ” Eight other women, aged seven to 13, the teacher, and a spectator were likewise injured.
The names of the dying are Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Bebe King, 6. Fifteen other women, some as young as five, were manifest but escaped unharmed.
The deaths led to a year of nationwide protests, fuelled by social media misconceptions that erroneously identified Rudakubana as a new asylum-seeker. Born in Wales to Rwandan expat parents, he had no asylum-seeking story.
The protests saw aggressive mobs targeting mosques, immigrant hotels, and authorities. Trucks were set fire, and liquor bottles and stones were hurled in conflicts across England and Northern Ireland. Over 1,200 arrests were made, with thousands sentenced to prison term of up to nine times.
Defence attorney Stanley Reiz said Rudakubana’s cognitive health would be a factor during punishment. Prosecutors have yet to demonstrate a clear purpose, and police have no classified the assault as terrorism.
Rudakubana remained obstinate during trials, refusing to discover himself. His ownership of toxins and a terrorism-related guide raised more concerns but has not yet linked him to extreme acts.
Since July, the Southport group has struggled to come to terms with the horror and its damaging effects.
