An 18-year-old British teenager has been sentenced to more than five decades in prison after he stabbed and killed young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed party last year.
Axel Muganwa Rudakubana was 17 when he targeted a Taylor Swift-themed dance class at the Hart Space in Southport on July 29, 2024. He fatally stabbed three young girls---six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar---and attempted to murder eight other children and two adults.
There were 26 children attending the dance party at the time of the attack.
Rudakubana pleaded guilty to the murders, multiple counts of attempted murder, manufacturing the toxin ricin, and possessing an al-Qaeda training manual. The judge said the teen must serve a minimum of 52 years before being considered for parole, but noted that he would unlikely be ever released from jail, according to Aljazeera.
Why Did He Stab the Children?
At the time, law enforcement said there were no clear ideological or religious motives in the attack but rather an "obsession with violence" that drove Rudakubana's actions, per The New York Times.
It was also noted that following his arrest, Rudakubana told police that he was "glad" the children died.
"It makes me happy," he said, as reported by CNN.
Were There Early Warning Signs?
Rudakubana has been known to authorities and numerous public agencies when he carried out the stabbing attacks and murders. Throughout his adolescence, he began exhibiting anger issues and an inclination toward violence. His classmates also said the teen was obsessed with Adolf Hitler and Genghis Khan.
Additionally, it was later discovered that he brought a knife at Range High School and had called Childline in October 2019 and asked what he should do if he had thoughts of killing somebody. He was expelled after admitting he brought the weapon to school on at least 10 occasions.
The teen reappeared at Range High School two months after he was expelled. He was carrying a hockey stick and brutally attacked another child, BBC News reported.
Rudakubana has been convicted of three criminal offenses in the months that followed and was later referred to the youth justice service for rehabilitation.
