British teenager who killed three girls in dance class sentenced to 52 years | Crime news
Southport striker Axel Rudakubana is likely to spend the rest of his life in prison for murdering three girls.
A teenager who killed three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, UK last year has been jailed for more than 50 years.
Judge Julian Goose said on Thursday that 18-year-old Axel Rudakubana “wanted to attempt the mass murder of innocent, happy young girls”.
The judge said he could not impose a life sentence without parole because Rudakubana was under 18 at the time of the crime.
But the judge said he must serve at least 52 years before being considered for parole, and “it is likely he will never be released.”
Rudakubana was 17 years old when attacked small children in the seaside town of Southport last July.
He killed three girls – six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar – and wounded eight other children, as well as two adults.
On Monday, Rudakubana confessed to the murders. He also pleaded guilty to 10 counts of attempted murder, manufacturing the deadly poison ricin and possessing al-Qaeda training manuals.
The prosecutor said that Rudakubana had no political or religious motive, but had a “long-term obsession with violence, killing, genocide.”
Rudakubana was not in court to hear the sentencing. Earlier in the trial, he was removed for disruptive behavior.
Riots
Following the Rudakubana attack, far-right activists seized on inaccurate reports on social media that the attacker was an asylum seeker who had recently arrived in the UK.
Social media reports set off weeks anti-immigrant conflicts with the police and the crowd went out into the city streets across Great Britain attack minorities and Muslims.
Rudakubana was born in Cardiff, Wales to Christian parents from Rwanda. Investigators were unable to determine the cause of his crimes.
In the years before the attack, Rudakubana was reported to many authorities for his violent interests and actions.
The government has ordered a public inquiry, saying there are serious questions that need to be answered.
“After one of the most harrowing moments in our country’s history, we owe it to these innocent young girls and all those affected to achieve the change they deserve,” said British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
