Southport gunman pleads guilty to murdering three girls during Taylor Swift holiday

A teenager confessed to the murder of three children during a “carefully planned” mass shooting at a Taylor Swift themed holiday club in the city of Southport which caused mass riots.

Axel Rudakubana, 18 years old, too pleaded guilty to 10 counts of attempted murder after a frenzied knife attack which shocked the nation last summeras well as making the deadly poison ricin and possessing a document that contained al-Qaeda training material.

He was due to stand trial at Liverpool Crown Court for four weeks on Monday, having pleaded not guilty to the charges last year. But he is dramatically changed his position on the first day of the trial.

Six-year-old Baby King and seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancomb died during the attack on July 29, 2024while nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar later died of her injuries in hospital.

Five other children and two adults were rushed to hospital in a critical condition with stab wounds after he ambushed a children’s classroom at Hart Space in Southport, where the girls were set to have a fun morning making bracelets and dancing to Taylor Swift. and yoga.

The tragic attack sparked a series of far-right riots across the country after misinformation about the killer’s identity spread online.

The day after the attack, thousands of people turned out for a peaceful rally in Southport. But a separate protest near the mosque turned violent: rockets were thrown at the police and vans were set on fire. Since then, more than 1,000 people have been arrested in connection with the riots, and hundreds have been charged and imprisoned.

Rudakubana, described by the Crown Prosecution Service as having a “terrifying” fascination with death and violence, was born in Rwanda in Cardiff before his family moved to Banks, Lancashire. He was 17 years old at the time of the incident.

In August, a court hearing lifted reporting restrictions that prevented him from being named because of his age.

After he changed his plea, the trial judge, Mr Justice Goose, told Rudakubani that he would inevitably be given the equivalent of life in prison at a sentencing hearing on Thursday.

The teenager, wearing a surgical mask, remained seated in the dock as he entered the guilty plea, refusing to stand when asked by the court clerk and the judge after entering court. He did not respond to a request to confirm his name.

But after a brief, inaudible conversation with the suspect, Stan Rise QC, defending, asked for Rudakubani to be charged again. Wearing a mask over his face and sitting with his head almost touching his knees, Rudakubana pleaded guilty to each of the 16 charges.

But the surprise nature of his guilty plea meant that the families of Rudakubana’s young victims were not in court to hear him confess his crimes as the trial was expected to begin on Tuesday.

Deanna Heer KC, prosecuting, confirmed the families were not in court on Monday as the trial was expected to start on Tuesday.

Mr Justice Goose said he apologized to the families for “not being here to hear his plea for that reason” and lawyers for the prosecution said they would speak to the families before Rudakubani’s sentencing on Thursday.

Following his plea, it can now be reported that Rudakubana’s teachers were concerned about his behavior and he was expelled from high school for the hockey stick incident.

The teenager, who has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, is believed to have left Range High School in Formby around 2019 before moving to a specialist school where teachers were reportedly concerned about his violence towards others.

During her first appearance at Liverpool Crown Court, Dianna Heer KC, prosecuting, said it was clear that Rudakubana did not want to leave the house and communicate with his family for a period of time.

He refused to speak to psychiatrists at the police station, Ms Geer told the court, which heard Rudakubana had no obvious signs of a mental disorder that required hospitalisation.

Ursula Doyle, deputy chief prosecutor for Merseyside Cheshire, described the attack as a “carefully planned attack” carried out by a killer who had a “frightening” interest in death and violence.

“This was an unspeakable attack that left an indelible mark on our community and nation with its savagery and senselessness,” she said in a statement released after he changed his plea.

“At the start of the school holidays, a day that should have been a day of carefree innocence; of children enjoying a dance workshop and making friendship bracelets became the scene of the blackest horror when Axel Rudakubana carried out his carefully planned rampage.

“He was clearly a young man with a terrible and abiding interest in death and violence. He showed no signs of remorse.

“The prosecution was determined to prove his guilt, and I am deeply grateful that today’s plea spares the families at the center of this case the pain of having to relive the ordeal of a trial.”