Before committing a horrifying killing spree in Southport, a teenage attacker was captured on camera pacing back and forth as he waited for a taxi. The nation was left in shock by this tragic event.
Axel Rudakubana, aged 18, confessed to the murder of three young girls – Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe, and Alice da Silva Aguiar. He was seen waiting for a taxi shortly before carrying out the attack.
While just 17 years old at the time, this teenager from Cardiff cold-heartedly took the lives of three children and wounded ten others during an assault at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class held at a local community center in Southport on July 29th of the previous year.
The unspeakable incident led to a slew of country-wide riots – with many migrant hotels and mosques being targeted – after misinformation and conspiracy theories spread online falsely claiming he was an immigrant.
Rudakubana, a Welsh native who lives in Banks, Lancashire, was picked up by local driver Gary Poland before the killing spree.
He was filmed pacing up and down as he waited outside his home, before travelling for half an hour to the class where he destroyed so many innocent lives.
Rudakubana asked the taxi driver to take him to the Hart Space, where he got out without paying and walked up the stairs to the yoga workshop.
He entered at 11.45am, and within mere seconds terrified screams could be heard from the street.
The cabbie was ‘very shocked and upset’ by what was done by the person he had driven around.
His wife Lynn said at the time: ‘He’s unable to talk about it at the moment. He feels terrible. All he’s thinking about is what happened to those children.’
Neighbours told the newspaper Mr Poland was a kindly man who had offered to give them lifts during the coronavirus pandemic.
Rudakubana today admitted to murdering three girls, to the attempted murder of eight other children, and to the attempted murder of Leanne Lucas and Jonathan Hayes.
He also pleaded guilty to having a kitchen knife in a public place, and admitted to the production of a biological toxin, ricin, and possession of an al-Qaeda training manual.
Not guilty pleas had previously been entered on Rudakubana’s behalf and a four-week trial was due to start this week.
The judge, Justice Goose, apologised to families who weren’t in court to hear the pleas.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper went on to announce an inquiry now that there has been a guilty plea.
She said ‘the families and the people of Southport need answers about what happened leading up to this attack’.
It emerged that Rudakubana was referred to the government’s anti-extremism scheme Prevent three times due to a fixation with violence.
In her statement, Ms Cooper said these three referrals happened in the 17 months between December 2019 and April 2021, when Rudakubana was 13 and 14 years old.
He was also in contact with the police, the courts, the youth justice system, social services and mental health services.
‘Yet between them, those agencies failed to identify the terrible risk and danger to others that he posed,’ Ms Cooper said.
‘We also need more independent answers on both Prevent and all the other agencies that came into contact with this extremely violent teenager as well as answers on how he came to be so dangerous.’
Sir Keir Starmer today admitted the state ‘failed in its ultimate duty’ to protect the victims of the Southport killer.
The Prime Minister lashed out at the crimes committed by the ‘vile and sick’ teenager and vowed to investigate what happened, saying: ‘Britain will rightly demand answers. And we will leave no stone unturned in that pursuit.’
The Mail has learnt that authorities knew of Rudakubana’s disturbing interest in a school massacre as far back as 2019.
He was referred to the Government’s de-radicalisation scheme Prevent that year on the basis that he had been researching for information about the killing of children in school shootings.
It was reported he was also referred twice in 2021 after viewing material about the 2017 London terror attack.
But experts deemed that there was no counter-terrorism risk at the time as he was considered not to be motivated by a terrorist ideology.
Downing Street rejected claims there had been a ‘gigantic cover-up’ ahead of Rudakubana’s court case, amid allegations by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.
The PM’s spokesman told reporters it was important not to prejudice the trial, adding: ‘Clearly if the trial had collapsed and the attacker walked free, nobody would have forgiven that happening.’
In a statement this afternoon, Sir Keir said: ‘The news that the vile and sick Southport killer will be convicted is welcome.
‘It is also a moment of trauma for the nation, and there are grave questions to answer as to how the state failed in its ultimate duty to protect these young girls.
‘Britain will rightly demand answers, and we will leave no stone unturned in that pursuit.’
Conspiracy theories spiralled in the aftermath of the attack as the identity of the killer was withheld. But he could not be named because of his age – there is automatic anonymity given to any person under 18 accused of a crime.
Rudakubana was 17-years-old at the time and could only be named after Judge Menary KC decided it was in the public interest to lift his anonymity order.
The judge blasted the ‘idiotic rioting’ in the UK after the attack and said keeping the order in place risked ‘allowing others who are up to mischief to continue to spread misinformation in a vacuum’.
Rudakubana’s guilty plea today is likely to raise pressure on Prevent to explain how he slipped through the cracks, engaging in a horrific crime and sparking a summer of violent and often racist unrest across the UK, fuelled by online conspiracy theories.
Officials were well aware that Rudakubana could pose a risk and he was referred three times to the government’s deradicalisation scheme Prevent, sources confirmed today.
One of the referrals is thought to follow concerns about Rudakubana’s potential interest in the killing of children in a school massacre, but it was deemed that there was no counter terrorism risk.
His behaviour, including his apparent interest in violence, was assessed by Prevent as potentially concerning.
But he was deemed not to be motivated by a terrorist ideology or pose a terrorist danger and was therefore not considered suitable for the counter-radicalisation scheme.
Rudakubana was first referred to Prevent in 2019 when he was 13. Two more referrals were made in 2021, all when was a school child living in Lancashire.
Each time he was assessed as not being a counter terrorism risk and therefore not suitable for further investigation by the counter-radicalisation programme Channel, which handles Prevent referrals where there is a significant risk of that person being drawn into terrorism.
For more on this case, search for ‘The Trial: The Southport Dance class’ wherever you get your podcasts now.
