An 18-year-old son of Rwandan immigrants has pleaded guilty to the fatal stabbing of three little girls at a dance class in Southport, UK last summer.
Axel Rudakubana entered a guilty plea this morning before Liverpool Crown Court where he was charged with three counts of murder and ten counts of attempted murder.
He further pleaded guilty to one charge of possession of a knife – all relating to the incident at Hart Street, Southport on 29 July 2024.
He was additionally charged on 29 October with production of a biological toxin, namely ricin, contrary to Section 1 of the Biological Weapons Act 1974; and possessing information, namely a pdf file entitled “Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants: The Al-Qaeda Training Manual” of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, contrary to Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
Following his guilty plea, Rudakubana was remanded in custody to appear at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday 23 January for sentencing. The hearing is due to start at 11am.
Alice da Silva Aguiar (9) Bebe King, (6) and Elsie Dot Stancombe, (7) died following the stabbings at The Hart Space in Southport, Merseyside.
The ten charges of attempted murder – to which he has also pleaded guilty – relate to eight other children who were injured when Rudakubana went on a stabbing spree at a Taylor Swift themed dance class held at the venue.
Yoga instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes were also injured in the attack.
Rudakubana was later charged with producing ricin as well as allegedly being in possession of an al Qaeda training manual discovered during searches of his home in Banks, Lancashire, in the days after the stabbings.
He will face a mandatory life sentence for his crimes, however, being under the age of 21, he does not qualify for a whole of life sentence.
At a previous sitting of Liverpool Crown Court last December, a plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf after he refused to speak.
At the time Rudakubana appeared via video link before Liverpool Crown Court today from Belmarsh prison, he did not speak and refused to respond to questions put to him by the court.
It was reported that he sat fiddling with his hands and did not confirm his identity of give a verbal indication of his plea in respect of the charges against him.