UK to launch investigation after teenager admits killing three girls in Southport Reuters
By Michael Holden and Sam Tobin
LONDON/LIVERPOOL, England (Reuters) – A British teenager unexpectedly pleaded guilty on Monday to murdering three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event last July, as the government said it would investigate the crime, which has been followed by nationwide riots. .
Axel Rudakubana, 18, surprised a judge, prosecutors and police by admitting to the murders in the northern English town of Southport, making a trial due to start at Liverpool Crown Court unnecessary.
He also pleaded guilty to 10 counts of attempted murder in connection with the attack, as well as manufacturing the deadly poison ricin and possessing al Qaeda training manuals.
Hours later, the government announced a public inquiry, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer saying it was “a moment of trauma for the nation when there are serious questions to be answered about how the state failed in its ultimate duty to protect these young girls”.
Rudakubana had previously been referred to Prevent, an anti-radicalisation programme, three times but no action had been taken, and had also been in contact with the police, courts and mental health services, the government said.
“It is clear that this was a young man with a disgusting and abiding interest in death and violence,” said Ursula Doyle, of the Crown Prosecution Service. “He showed no signs of remorse.”
Rudakubana, who was 17 at the time of the incident, initially refused to speak when asked to confirm his name, as he had at all previous hearings, which meant a not guilty plea was entered on his behalf in December.
But after consulting with his lawyer, he admitted to killing Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, who were at a summer event.
Doyle said he carried out a “carefully planned rampage” as innocent children enjoyed a light-hearted dance workshop and made friendship bracelets.
Judge Julian Goose said he would sentence Rudakubana on Thursday and that a life sentence was imminent.
ANTI-IMMIGRANT RIOTS FIRE ACROSS BRITAIN
Rudakubana, who was born in Britain, was arrested shortly after the attack in the quiet seaside town north of Liverpool. Despite the discovery of the Al Qaeda handbook, police said the incident was not being treated as terrorism-related, and its motive remained unknown.
Following the murders, riots broke out in Southport after false reports that the suspect was a radical Islamist migrant spread on social media.
The unrest spread across Britain with attacks on mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers. Starmer blamed far-right violence and more than 1,500 people were arrested.
The Guardian newspaper reported that Rudakubana, the son of devout Christians who moved to Britain from Rwanda, was referred to Prevent over concerns he had viewed online material about US school massacres and past terror attacks. But it was not assessed as a terrorist threat, the newspaper said.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the inquiry was needed so the families of the victims “can get answers about how this horrific attack could have happened and why it happened to their children”.
