AXEL Rudakubana’s atrocity took just 12 minutes to unfold on a beautiful summer’s morning last year.
Twenty-six excited children, all girls and aged between six and 11, happily sang and played at a Taylor Swift dance class.
PAAxel Rudakubana, 18, pleaded guilty to all 16 counts against him today[/caption]
PAThe monster stabbed Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, to death[/caption]
Rudakubana was referred three times to anti-extremism programme Prevent
Three miles away Rudakubana, who pleaded guilty on Monday to murdering three girls, was arming himself with a 20cm kitchen knife.
Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, had earlier been dropped off by loving parents at 10am.
The two-hour event was organised by instructors Leanne Lucas and Heidi Liddle at The Hart Space in Hart Street, Southport.
Rudakubana was referred three times to anti-extremism programme Prevent amid concerns over his fixation with violence.
But despite this and contact with other state agencies, the authorities failed to stop the attack.
Rudakubana was wearing a green hooded sweatshirt with the hood up and a surgical mask and took a cab to Hart Street arriving just before 11.45am.
Before leaving home he had searched online for “Mar Mari Emmanuel stabbing” – the knife attack on a bishop in Sydney, Australia, earlier that year.
He travelled in silence and when he arrived left the vehicle without paying.
This prompted the driver to follow him demanding payment, which he ignored.
A worker at a body shop saw what was going on and told Rudakubana to pay the taxi driver.
But he replied: “What are you going to do about it?”
Inside the play event Leanne opened a window because of the summer heat.
As she did so she saw Rudakubana outside but thought nothing of it.
Children were gathered around tables in the studio making bracelets and a life-size model of Taylor Swift stood nearby for the youngsters to have their photos taken alongside.
Rudakubana could be seen pacing 30 minutes before he murdered three children
PAAlice da Silva Aguiar, nine, was murdered in the attack[/caption]
PABebe King, six, also had her young life stolen[/caption]
PAElsie Dot Stancombe, seven, was stabbed to death in the horror[/caption]
Then the door opened and Rudakubana entered, armed with the black-handled Cerbera kitchen knife.
Seconds later children’s screams rang out.
Without saying a word, he launched into the rampage – senselessly stabbing the child nearest to him.
He then moved through the room systematically stabbing as many children as he could before they could escape him.
As the horrified children ran from the studio, Rudakubana chased after them and stabbed them from behind.
He knifed businessman Jonathan Hayes, who was working in the office next door and bravely tried to stop the carnage.
Dance teacher Leanne was stabbed in the arms, neck and back as she used her body to shield young girls from the knifeman.
She bundled two people into a storage room and bent over two children to protect them.
Witnesses described injured young girls running from the studio into the street.
Police Sergeant Gillespie was the first officer on scene arriving at 11.57am.
The officer found Rudakubana holding the large, bloodied kitchen knife, which he dropped when ordered to do so.
Member of the public Joel Verite followed police into the building and found tragic Bebe on the ground.
In the studio itself, Sgt Gillespie found the body of Elsie Dot.
Soon afterwards Heidi and a little girl she protected were found hiding in a toilet.
They were escorted from the building crying with fear and relief.
At 11.59am the defendant was arrested initially on suspicion of attempted murder and soon afterwards at 12.02pm on suspicion of murder.
Rudakubana had stabbed two adults and 11 children – Elsie Dot, Bebe and Alice all suffering fatal injuries.
Timeline of events related to the Southport stabbings
AXEL Rudakubana has pleaded guilty to the murders of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, and 10 counts of attempted murder.
Here is a timeline of events relating to the case:
2002: Rudakubana’s father Alphonse moves to the UK from Rwanda, according to an interview he gave to his local newspaper in Southport in 2015.
August 7, 2006: Rudakubana is born in Cardiff, Wales.
2013: The family – including Rudakubana’s father, mother and older brother – move from Wales to Banks in Lancashire, a few miles from Southport.
July 29, 2024: Shortly before midday, a knifeman enters a dance class at The Hart Space in Hart Street in Southport.
Bebe, Elsie and Alice are fatally wounded. Eight other children are injured, as are instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes.
Police say they have detained a male and seized a knife.
Within hours, claims spread online that the suspect is an asylum seeker who arrived in the UK by boat in 2023.
Some claims include an alleged identity.
July 30, 2024: In the evening, a peaceful vigil is held outside Southport’s Atkinson arts venue, where flowers are laid in memory of those who died.
Shortly after the vigil, a separate protest begins outside the town’s mosque in St Luke’s Road.
People throw items towards the mosque, property is damaged and police vehicles are set on fire.
July 31, 2024: Demonstrators gather in Whitehall, London, for an “Enough Is Enough” protest.
Flares and cans are thrown at police and more than 100 people are arrested.
Disorder also breaks out in Hartlepool, County Durham, and Aldershot, Hampshire.
August 1, 2024: Police announce that Rudakubana has been charged with the murders of Bebe, Elsie Dot and Alice, 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article.
He is not named by police because of his age.
He appears in court in Liverpool and Honorary Recorder of Liverpool Andrew Menary KC rules he can be named, as he is due to turn 18 in a week.
He initially smiled on entering the courtroom – then kept his face covered by his sweatshirt for the remainder of the proceedings before the case was adjourned.
Later that evening, demonstrators gather outside a hotel in Newton Heath, Manchester.
August 2, 2024: Three police officers are taken to hospital after disorder in Sunderland.
August 3, 2024: There are scenes of violence during planned protests across the UK, including in Liverpool, Hull, Nottingham and Belfast.
August 4, 2024: Disorder continues, including outside a Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, where masked demonstrators launch lengths of wood and sprayed fire extinguishers at police officers.
August 5, 2024: The Government holds an emergency Cobra meeting in the wake of the disorder and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer vows to “ramp up criminal justice”.
That evening, a peaceful vigil is held in Southport, a week on from the killings. Police deal with disorder in Plymouth, Devon and Darlington, County Durham.
August 7, 2024: Prison sentences for those involved in the unrest begin to be handed out. Derek Drummond, 58, is the first person to be jailed for violent disorder at Liverpool Crown Court, where he is sentenced to three years.
More than 100 protests are planned for across the country, with counter-demonstrations taking place, but the majority of police forces report very little trouble.
October 29, 2024: Merseyside Police announces Rudakubana will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court via videolink the next day charged with production of a biological toxin, Ricin, and possession of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism.
October 30, 2024: Rudakubana appears at Westminster Magistrates’ Court via videolink from HMP Belmarsh to face the two new charges.
He holds his sweater over the bottom half of his face and does not respond when asked to confirm his name.
November 13, 2024: Rudakubana appears at Liverpool Crown Court via videolink. He covers his face with his grey sweatshirt and does not speak throughout the hearing.
About 20 family members of victims sit in the public gallery. The case is adjourned until December 12, when a preparatory hearing will take place.
January 20, 2025: Rudakubana appears at Liverpool Crown Court for the first day of his trial where he pleads guilty to all 16 charges, including the murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven.
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