A teenager in the UK is about to face sentencing after committing a horrifying attack that left three young girls dead and sparked the worst riots the country has seen in over a decade. Axel Rudakubana, an 18-year-old, went on a stabbing spree at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, a seaside town in northwest England, last year. The attack also injured ten others, including eight children, and caused nationwide outrage.
Rudakubana pleaded guilty earlier this week to the murders of six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar. He also admitted to attempting to murder ten others and carrying a knife. In addition to these charges, Rudakubana confessed to producing the deadly toxin ricin and possessing an Al-Qaeda training manual.
The sentencing will take place at Liverpool Crown Court, where Judge Julian Goose has already warned that Rudakubana is looking at a long prison sentence. The hearing begins at 11:00 am, with family members of the victims expected to be present.
Rudakubana’s behavior in court has been unsettling. He has refused to cooperate multiple times, often staying silent and even declining to stand during proceedings. On Monday, he muttered “guilty” to each of the charges against him.
The brutal attack happened on July 29, 2024, and sent shockwaves across the country. Tragically, the chaos didn’t end there. False rumors spread online that the attacker was a Muslim asylum seeker, leading to anti-immigrant riots in more than a dozen towns and cities across England and Northern Ireland. Misinformation fueled anger, and rioters attacked police, mosques, shops, and even hotels housing asylum seekers. Hundreds of people were arrested during the unrest, which lasted nearly a week.
In reality, Rudakubana was born in Cardiff, Wales, to parents of Rwandan origin. His parents, who are Christian and ethnic Tutsis, moved to the UK after fleeing the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. The family lived in Banks, a village northeast of Southport.
While the attack has not been classified as a terrorist act, critics have questioned why. Some believe it highlights gaps in the way authorities handle such incidents. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised to review and possibly update terrorism laws to address this type of extreme violence, which seems to lack clear motives beyond causing harm. Meanwhile, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced a public inquiry to understand how police, courts, and social services missed warning signs about Rudakubana’s dangerous behavior.
It turns out that Rudakubana had been flagged three times under Prevent, a UK government program aimed at stopping people from being radicalized or supporting terrorism. Despite concerns about his obsession with violence, Prevent decided he didn’t meet their intervention threshold. Authorities were aware of his troubling behavior for years, including his interest in mass killings, which he researched on school computers. Social workers even needed police escorts to visit his home due to safety concerns.
When Rudakubana was just 13, he was bullied and began carrying a knife, which eventually got him expelled from school. Despite all these red flags, little was done to address the growing threat he posed.
Following the attack, there has also been outrage over how easily Rudakubana was able to buy a knife online. He purchased one from Amazon despite being under 18 and having a criminal record. Cooper has called this a disgrace and vowed to introduce stricter regulations to prevent such sales.
As the sentencing unfolds, the families of the victims, along with the rest of the nation, are left grappling with the devastating consequences of Rudakubana’s actions and the systemic failures that allowed such a tragedy to happen.
