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Axel Rudakubana sentenced to 52 years in prison for Southport murders
Axel Rudakubana, 18, was given 13 life sentences at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday
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A disturbed teenager who murdered three innocent girls in a mass stabbing at a childrenâs dance class in Southport and later gloated âIâm glad theyâre deadâ is likely to never be released from prison.
Axel Rudakubana, 18, was sentenced to life with a minimum of 52 years for carrying out the horrific attack which was described as a âpre-meditated attempt to commit indiscriminate mass murderâ.
The remorseless killer, who admitted 16 offences, was absent from the dock as the sentence was read out on Thursday, having been removed from court for shouting.
He was given 13 life sentences with a minimum term of 51 years and 190 days. Some time was taken off his 52-year sentence due to time already served in custody.
Axel Rudakubana, 18, pleaded guilty to murdering Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice da Silva Aguiar in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class (Merseyside Police)Judge Mr Justice Goose said he was unable to hand him a rare whole life order because he was only 17 at the time of the attack on 29 July last year. He turned 18 just nine days after the attack.
The teenager dramatically changed his plea on the first day of his trial on Monday, admitting to murdering six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice, who died from her injuries in hospital after she fled the rampage at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday class.
He also pleaded guilty to attempting to murder eight children who were wounded - with some stabbed in the back as they tried to escape - and two adults who tried to protect them.
From left to right: Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice da Silva Aguiar were killed in the mass stabbing (PA Media )He further admitted to producing the deadly poison ricin and possessing a document containing an al-Qaeda training material, which included information on knife attacks which he used to help plot his assault.
The court heard how violence-obsessed Rudakubana had travelled by taxi from his home in Banks, Lancashire, to the Hart Space in Southport, where 26 girls aged six to 13 were attending a fully booked childrenâs holiday class.
They were making friendship bracelets and singing Taylor Swift songs when he entered the room wearing a surgical face mask and bright green hoodie, brandishing a 20cm kitchen knife.
He grabbed the nearest child and stabbed her, before he then moved through the room systematically stabbing as many as possible.
Court artist sketch of Southport stabbings suspect Axel Rudakubana appearing at Liverpool Crown Court before he pleaded guilty (PA Wire )Some were stabbed in the back as they desperately tried to escape, with one girl later seen running out of the building only to be dragged back in by the knifeman.
Members of victims families sobbed in the public gallery as harrowing CCTV of the attack was played to the court. In the footage, girls could be seen screaming in terror as they fled the dance studio into the carpark.
Shortly afterwards, the seven-year-old girl dressed in summer shorts and stroppy top, was shown being pulled back inside the studio by Rudakubana, Later, she was seen stumbling out of the door with visible wounds clinging to a wall for support before she collapsed on the floor.
When the girlâs father eventually arrived on the scene, her injuries were so horrific he did not recognise her because her long-blonde hair was so soaked with blood it looked brown, the court heard.
When police arrived, officers found Rudakubana at the top of the stairs standing over the lifeless body of Bebe holding the kitchen knife, which he dropped when officers told him to.
He remained silent in police interview but appeared to gloat about the horrific attack in unsolicited comments made in the police custody suite, which were noted down or recorded on CCTV, saying: âIâm glad those kids are dead, it makes me happy.â
He also said: âI donât care, Iâm feeling neutral,â and âso happy, six years old. Itâs a good thing they are dead, yeah.â
Police searches of his address and analysis of his computers uncovered a disturbing fascination with violence, death and genocide â as well as a plastic container of deadly poison ricin.
Picture shows knife identical to that used in attack as part of police evidence ( Merseyside Police)He had researched car bombs, detonators and nitric acid, and owned weapons including a machete, scabbard and another knife identical to the one used in the attack.
Searches of his devices also revealed an obsession with massacres, torture and a wide range of brutal conflicts, including the genocide in Rwanda, where his parents are from.
Detective chief inspector Jason Pye, the senior investigating officer, said the evidence showed this was âno random acts of violence, but a planned, premeditated attempt to commit indiscriminate mass murderâ.
âHe wasnât fighting for a cause,â he said. âHis only purpose was to kill and to target the youngest, most vulnerable, no doubt to spread the greatest fear and outrage.â
A photo of Elsie Dot Stancombe among the flowers and tributes outside the Atkinson Art Centre in Southport (PA Wire)Merseyside chief constable Serena Kennedy said the âbeautiful faces and namesâ of the three murder victims âwill be etched on the minds of the people of Merseyside forever.â
âThe victims were enjoying a day of youthful innocence, untainted by the twisted and unhealthy fascination with violence that drove Axel Rudakubana to carry out the atrocities he had planned in the days leading up to the event,â she added.
âHis terrifying attack resulted in the deaths of Bebe, Elsie and Alice â according to prosecution counsel today two of those children suffered particularly horrific injuries which can only be described as sadistic in nature.â
 Bollywood star Randeep Hooda is set to reunite with 'Extraction' director Sam Hargrave for Apple Original Filmsâ upcoming action thriller 'Matchbox.' %23johncena)
