Official government reports on the Prevent programme

Axel Rudakubana Pleads Guilty to Murders of Three Girls at Taylor Swift-Themed Dance Class in Southport

Jan 20, 2025, 01:51 PM

Axel Rudakubana, an 18-year-old from Lancashire, has pleaded guilty to the murders of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport on July 29 of the previous year. The victims, Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were killed during the attack. Rudakubana also admitted to 10 counts of attempted murder, as well as charges related to the production of the biological toxin ricin and possession of an al-Qaeda training manual. He was referred to the government's counter-terrorism Prevent programme three times prior to the attack due to concerns over his fixation with violence. Rudakubana's guilty plea came unexpectedly on the first day of his trial at Liverpool Crown Court, where he had previously been referred to as a 'young man with a sickening and sustained interest in death and violence' by the Crown Prosecution Service. He is set to be sentenced on Thursday, with a life sentence deemed inevitable by the judge.