After confessing to the killings of three girls at a Southport dancing class, Axel Rudakubana has been thrown into prison for 52 years.
On Monday, the opening day of his trial at Liverpool Crown Court, the 18-yr-old entered a guilty plea to all 16 of the charges against him.
Shortly before noon on July 29, last year, an attack at the Taylor Swift-themed class in The Hart Space in a small business park in the coastal resort claimed the lives of Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9, Bebe King, 6, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, reports RTE.
The defendant, who was 17 at the time of the deaths, acknowledged killing them and attempting to kill eight other children—all of whom are unnamed for legal reasons—as well as Leanne Lucas, the class instructor, and John Hayes, a businessman.
Given that Rudakubana was just 17 at the time of the incident, a complete life order is not anticipated for him, reports RTE.
Generally speaking, the measures are only applicable to offenders who are 21 years of age or older, and they are only taken into consideration for those who are 18 to 20 in special cases.
He also entered a guilty plea to the following charges: producing ricin, a biological toxin, on or before July 29, possessing a knife on the day of the killings that he purchased from Amazon, and having information that may be used by someone planning or carrying out an act of terrorism, reports RTE.
He is accused of possessing a PDF file named “Military Studies In The Jihad Against The Tyrants, The al-Qaeda Training Manual” between August 29, 2021, and July 30, 2024, which is related to the terrorist charge.
The paper and ricin, a lethal poison, were discovered during searches of the Old School Close home he lived with his Rwandan-born parents, reports RTE.
When authorities searched Rudakubana’s house, they discovered documents on Nazi Germany, the atrocities in Rwanda, and car bombs on his gadgets.
Following the Southport killings, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told the country Tuesday that “extreme violence carried out by loners, misfits, young men in their bedrooms” represents a new danger to Britain from terrorism, reports RTE.
Following Rudakubana’s guilty pleas, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper declared an investigation into the case, focussing on how he “came to be so dangerous” and why Prevent, a government agency that works to prevent people from becoming terrorists or aiding terrorism, “failed to identify the terrible risk” he posed to others.
He was able to purchase a kitchen knife from Amazon at the age of 17, which he used to stab the girls to death despite having a prior violent conviction. According to Ms. Cooper, the government would “bring in stronger measures to tackle knife sales online in the Crime and Policing Bill this spring,” reports RTE.
Following the Southport incident, there was a nationwide uproar, with hotels and mosques that housed asylum seekers being among the targets.
Information that the culprit was an asylum seeker who had entered the UK on a tiny boat circulated online in the hours following the stabbing, reports RTE.
Thousands of people attended a nonviolent vigil in Southport the day following the assault, while a second demonstration outside a mosque in the town descended into violence, with vans being set on fire and missiles being hurled at police.
Since the incident, more than 1,000 people have been arrested nationwide for disorder-related offences, and hundreds have been prosecuted and imprisoned.
Later today, Rudakubana, who lives in Banks, Lancashire, will be sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court, reports RTE.
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