al Jazeera:

UK teen who killed three girls at dance class sentenced to 52 years

Southport attacker Axel Rudakubana will likely spend the rest of his life in jail for murdering three girls.

Floral tributes left by members of the public are seen following the fatal knife attack on three young girls in July [File: Phil Noble/Reuters]

Published On 23 Jan 202523 Jan 2025

A teenager who murdered three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, the United Kingdom last year has been sentenced to more than 50 years in prison.

Judge Julian Goose said on Thursday that 18-year-old Axel Rudakubana “wanted to try and carry out mass murder of innocent, happy young girls”.

Recommended Stories

list of 4 items

list 1 of 4

How do Donald Trump’s pardons compare with other US presidents?

list 2 of 4

The January 6 pardons: Who has Trump ordered to be released?

list 3 of 4

Teenager kills female student in Nashville school shooting, US police say

list 4 of 4

How Trump’s executive orders will roll out — if courts allow them

end of list

The judge said he couldn’t impose a sentence of life without parole, because Rudakubana was under 18 at the time of the crime.

But the judge said he must serve a minimum of 52 years before being considered for parole, and “it is likely he will never be released”.

Rudakubana was 17 when he attacked young children in the seaside town of Southport last July.

He killed three girls – Bebe King, aged six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, – and wounded eight other children, as well as two adults.

On Monday, Rudakubana admitted to carrying out the killings. He also pleaded guilty to 10 charges of attempted murder, to producing the deadly poison ricin and to possessing an al-Qaeda training manual.

The prosecutor said Rudakubana had no political or religious cause, but had “a longstanding obsession with violence, killing, genocide”.

Rudakubana was not in court to hear the passing of his sentence. Earlier in the trial, he was removed for disruptive behaviour.

Riots

After Rudakubana’s attack, far-right activists seized on incorrect reports on social media that the attacker was an asylum seeker who had recently arrived in the UK.

The social media reports triggered weeks of anti-migrant clashes with police and crowds took to city streets across the UK to attack minorities and Muslims.

Rudakubana was born in Cardiff, Wales, to Christian parents from Rwanda. Investigators haven’t been able to pin down a cause for his crimes.

In the years before the attack, Rudakubana had been reported to multiple authorities over his violent interests and actions.

The government has ordered a public inquiry, saying there were grave questions to answer.

“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 deliver the change that they deserve,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.