NEW DELHI: Axel Rudakubana, 18-year-old killer from Southport, has admitted stabbing 3 young girls to death while injuring 10 others at a Taylor Swift themed dance class in July 2024. The attack had rocked the nation which triggered one of the most violent riots in UK’s history in the past 10 years.
His chilling crimes also included attempting to murder eight other children and two adults, producing the biological toxin ricin, and possessing an al-Qaeda training manual.
Who is Axel Rudakubana?
Rudakubana was born in Cardiff in 2006 to Rwandan parents and moved to Southport, Merseyside, in 2013. His childhood appeared normal, taking acting lessons at the Pauline Quirk Academy. He also featured in a promotional video for BBC Children in Need in 2018 which was later withdrawn in the wake of the tragedy. However, he began to undergo significant problems with violence in Year 9 as per news agency BBC.
At school, his fascination with violence became evident. He was reportedly obsessed with despotic figures such as Adolf Hitler and Genghis Khan, and even accessed materials about the IRA. His behaviour grew increasingly volatile, leading to his expulsion from Range High School at the age of 13 after a series of violent incidents, including an attack on another pupil that left them with a broken wrist.
Following his expulsion, Rudakubana attended specialist schools for children with additional needs but struggled to mingle into structured environments. Home visits by school staff often required police presence due to concerns about his behaviour. He was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and, at times, refused to leave his house or communicate with his family.
Between 2019 and 2021, he was referred to the government’s counter-terrorism prevent programme three times over his obsession with violence, though his case was never deemed terror-related. Despite repeated interventions from schools, police, and safeguarding services, his dangerous tendencies went unchecked.
Neighbours described police frequently visiting his family home in the months leading up to the attack. On the day of the tragedy, he was captured pacing outside his house on a doorbell camera before booking a taxi to the dance studio where he committed the horrific crime.
‘Young man with sickening interest in death & violence’
At his trial, the Crown Prosecution Service described Rudakubana as a “young man with a sickening and sustained interest in death and violence.” Despite his young age, his crimes have shocked the nation, sparking an inquiry into how warning signs were missed and what changes are needed to prevent such horrors in the future.
Rudakubana’s actions have been described as driven by a disturbing obsession with violence. Despite this, police have not treated the case as terror-related, as he lacked any ideological motivation. The Home Secretary has since launched a public inquiry to uncover the failings that allowed the tragedy to unfold, with Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper calling for “independent answers” regarding Prevent and other agencies that had contact with him.
The court heard that a week before the attack, Rudakubana’s father prevented him from visiting his former school, Range High School, from which he had been expelled five years earlier. On 29 July, the day of the murders, he left home, booked a taxi under a fake name, and carried out the brutal attack.
The three young victims of the attack—Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine—were fatally stabbed, leaving their families devastated. Rudakubana was described in court as a “young man with a sickening and sustained interest in death and violence” who had shown no remorse for his actions.
Sentencing is scheduled for Thursday, with Rudakubana expected to receive a life sentence. However, due to his age at the time of the offence, 17 years, he cannot be given a whole-life term.
