Southport killer Axel Rudakubana was 'happy' girls were dead, sentencing hearing told
Sentencing of Axel Rudakubana, who was known to authorities and had a growing interest in extreme violence, under way at Liverpool Crown Court
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Child-killer Axel Rudakubana said he was âso happyâ and it was a âgood thing those children are deadâ after stabbing to death three young girls in the Southport attack, a court has heard.
The 18-year-old faces life in prison for a knife rampage at a childrenâs Taylor Swift themed dance class in Southport on July 29 last year.
Rudakubana armed himself with a large kitchen knife, he took a taxi to the dance studio, and started stabbing children at random.
Three - Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven â died of the injuries inflicted by Rudakubana.
Eight other children were injured, as well as two adults, dance class instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes, who tried to intervene to stop the attack.
At the sentencing hearing, prosecutor Deanna Heer KC said Rudakubana was behind a âpre-meditated, planned knife attack upon multiple victims, principally young girls, intending to kill them. Three children were killed, two of those children suffered particularly horrific injuries which are difficult to explain as anything other than sadistic in nature.
âHe also attempted to kill ten others, inflicting a number of stab wounds upon them, including to their backs, suggesting they were inflicted as they tried to escape.
âWhen his home was searched following his arrest, a number of weapons were recovered including the biological toxin ricin which the defendant had produced in his bedroom.
âOn his computer devices a large number of images and documents were found which demonstrated that he had a long standing obsession with violence, killing and genocide.
âAmong those documents was a version of the Al-Qaeda training manual, which provides instructions on how to commit acts of terror, including with a knife and with poisons, including ricin.
âHaving researched atrocities committed by others, the evidence suggests that he set out to emulate them on the 29th July.
âThere is no evidence, however, that he ascribed to any particular political or religious ideology. He wasnât fighting for a cause.
âHis only purpose was to kill and he targeted the youngest, most vulnerable in our society in order to spread the greatest level of fear and outrage, which he succeeded in doing.
âWhilst under arrest at the police station after the incident, Mr Rudakubana was heard to say, âItâs a good thing those children are dead⊠Iâm so glad⊠Iâm so happy.â
After the prosecution opening started, Rudakubana shouted from the dock âI need to speak to a paramedic because I feel ill.â
Mr Justice Goose paused the hearing, but said Rudakubana has already been seen by medics and has been deemed fit to attend court. He said the hearing should continue.
The judge then ejected Rudakubana from the courtroom when he continue to shout from the dock as Ms Heer tried to speak.
Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice da Silva Aguiar were all murdered by Rudakubana (Merseyside Police/PA)
PA Media
Rudakubana, wearing prison grey clothes and a blue surgical mask, sat down with his head buried in his hands as he first entered the dock. He then refused to answer when asked to confirm his name.
The Southport attack was the trigger for a week of rioting and violent disorder in towns and cities around the country, fuelled initially by misinformation about the identity of the attacker.
It was circulated online that Rudakubana was an asylum seeker who had entered the country illegally by boat. In fact, the teenager was British-born.
Sir Keir Starmer has now launched an inquiry into the build up to the attack, to investigate suspected missed opportunities to stop Rudakubana as he developed a chilling interest in extreme violence, researching topics such as Nazi Germany, Al Qaeda, US school shootings, and the Rwandan genocide.
Ms Lucas had advertised the Taylor Swift themed dance class on Instagram, to be held at The Hart Space on a small business park in Southport from 10am on July 29.
Twenty six children signed up for the sold-out class, and were pictured smiling and playing at the event.
But shortly before midday, Rudakubana â 17 at the time - arrived by taxi at the studio. He was wearing a blue surgical mask, a green hoodie with the hood pulled up over his head.
The court heard Rudakubana, who lives around five miles from the dance studio, had armed himself with an Apollo Cerbera knife with a 20in blade, bought from Amazon.
He had used encrypted technology to conceal his identity, and he deleted his Internet browsing history before launching the attack.
He booked a taxi under the name âSimonâ, and left the car without paying as he headed to the dance studio.
When challenged about not paying the taxi bill, Rudakubana replied: âWhat are you going to do about it?â
Axel Rudakubana was reported to Prevent three times between 2019 and 2021 but the Home Office established each referral âshould not have been closedâ, Ms Cooper said (Elizabeth Cook/PA)
PA Wire
Shocking footage shows him enter the class and start grabbing the nearest children, stabbing them before moving on to the next victim.
âAt the time the defendant entered the building all 26 children were in the first floor studio, together with Leanne Lucas and Heidi Liddle, where they were gathered around the tables making bracelets and singing along to Taylor Swift songsâ, said Ms Heer.
Ms Lucas saw Rudakubana moments before the attack when she opened a window, and seconds later âthe door to the studio opened and she saw him againâ.
âWithout saying a word, he grabbed the child nearest to him from behind and put his arm around herâ, said the prosecutor.
âAt first, Leanne Lucas thought he was there to collect her, but he then moved on to a second child and then a third, Alice Da Silva Aguiar.
âHe moved quickly through the room without saying anything. It was only when he reached her and she felt a knife go into her back, that Leanne Lucas realised he was armed and stabbing them.â
Ms Lucas said she may have shouted for everyone to run, and she saw Rudakubana chasing children as they fled.
Some of the youngsters were stabbed in the back as they tried to flee.
Ms Liddle was sat on the floor helping the children to make bracelets when she heard screaming, and she saw Rudakubana âmove swiftly across the room, lunging through the childrenâ.
âIt was only when he stabbed Leanne Lucas that she began to register what was happeningâ, said Ms Heer.
âShe tried to pull Leanne away and then started pushing the children towards the exit.â
The court heard Ms Liddle went with a young girl to a toilet, where they barricaded themselves inside.
âOutside they could hear children screaming, and then the door rattled. When she heard voices outside the toilet door crying for the defendant to stop she realised that not all of the children had managed to escape.â
One of the mothers who was waiting for the class managed to rescue her daughter and three other children, sheltering them in the car. One of the children was Alice Da Silva Aguiar, who collapsed by the side of the vehicle.
Rudakubana was caught on CCTV dragging one child back into the building when she was a fraction away from escaping.
Jonathan Hayes, who was working at an office near to the dance studio, heard screams and saw children fleeing.
âAs he walked onto the landing, he saw the body of a child, lying motionless on the floorâ, he prosecutor said.
âCrouching over her was the defendant who then began to approach him, following him into his office as he retreated.
âThe defendant swiped at him with a knife, which he tried to grab. During the confrontation, the defendant stabbed him in the leg and he fell to the ground, shouting for help.â
Other members of the public tried to intervene but retreated when faced with a kinfe-wielding Rudakubana. Police armed with Tasers then arrived, and arrested the killer.
He had appeared set to stand trial, but on the first day he dramatically changed his pleas to guilty.
After his arrest, police discovered a cache of weapons at his home in Banks, Lancashire, including a machete and a collection of arrows.
Officers also came across a homemade substance which was later found to be ricin, a potentially deadly toxin.
A photo of Elsie Dot Stancombe among the flowers and tributes outside the Atkinson Art Centre, Southport (Paul Currie/PA)
PA Wire
Sweeps of Rudakubanaâs electronic devices revealed his deep-seated interest in violence, and he had downloaded an Islamic extremist document called âMilitary Studies In The Jihad Against The Tyrants, The Al Qaeda Training Manualâ.
Among his guilty pleas was an admission that he possessed that document, which could be useful to a terrorist, between August 29 2021 and July 30 2024.
The Prime Minister said he is calling an inquiry to investigate what he suggested was a new threat of terrorism from âextreme violence carried out by loners, misfits, young men in their bedroomsâ.
The government is also investigating how a knife was bought on Amazon, with a view to possible new laws controlling web sales of weapons.
Rudakubana had a conviction for violence after he went to his former school while armed with a knife, and he was under the age of 18. Yet he was still free to buy the weapon online.
It has also emerged that Rudakubana was referred three times between 2019 and 2021 to the governmentâs counter extremism scheme Prevent but there was no significant intervention to tackle his growing obsession with violence.
Unrest erupted across the country in the wake of the Southport attack, with mosques and hotels used for asylum seekers among the locations targeted.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer delivers a statement at 10 Downing Street in London, after the Government announced an inquiry into how the state failed to identify the risk posed by Axel Rudakubana, who killed three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport. Picture date: Tuesday January 21, 2025.
PA Wire
More than 1,000 arrests linked to disorder across the country were made, and hundreds have been charged and jailed.
Rudakubana, of Banks, Lancashire, is set to receive a life jail term when he sentenced by Mr Justice Goose.
He cannot be locked up under a whole life order because he was too young under law at the time of the offences.
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