A young man from Britain has admitted to murdering three little girls in a knife attack in the north of the United Kingdom in July, a horrific crime that shocked the nation and led to days of rioting across the country.
Axel Rudakubana, 18, changed his pleas from not guilty to guilty on what was supposed to be the first day of his trial at the Liverpool Crown Court on Monday.
He admitted to killing Bebe King, 6; Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7; and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, who were at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event in Southport town on July 29, 2024.
Ten others were injured, including eight children, in one of the worst mass stabbings the country has seen in years.
Rudakubana also admitted to 10 charges of attempted murder in connection to the attack, as well as making the poisonous substance ricin and possessing an al-Qaeda training manual.
Judge Julian Goose stated that he would sentence Rudakubana on Thursday and that a life prison sentence was inevitable.
The teenager, dressed in a gray tracksuit and wearing a surgical mask, refused to stand in court and remained silent except to say the word “guilty”.
In December, pleas of not guilty were entered on Rudakubana’s behalf when he refused to speak in court, and the case was scheduled for a four-week trial.
Rudakubana was born in Wales to Rwandan parents and lived in Banks, a village northeast of Southport.
Following the murders, there were major disturbances in Southport after false rumors spread on social media that the suspected killer was a Muslim migrant.
These disturbances spread across the UK with attacks on mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer attributing the riots to far-right violence. Over 1,500 people were arrested.
Interior Minister Yvette Cooper said on Monday that the upcoming days “will be a deeply traumatic and distressing time for the girls’ families”. However, she emphasized the importance of allowing the legal process to continue so that “justice can be served”.
