By Brooke Mallory, OAN Staff
Thursday, August 1, 2024 1:26 PM
British authorities on Thursday named 17-year-old Axel Rudakbana as the suspect in the killings of three children and wounding others.
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Media were initially unable to reveal Rudakbana’s identity due to age reporting laws, but a judge at Liverpool Crown Court announced that the young assailant’s name could be published as he turns 18 next week.
Rudakubana is accused of stabbing three girls to death and injuring 10 others during a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga class.
Police said he was born in Cardiff, Wales, but both his parents are from Rwanda.
Some time after moving to the UK, Rudakubana’s parents moved to the Southport area in 2013. However, it has not been reported where the couple initially lived when they moved to the UK.
There is also dispute as to whether Rudakbana is an immigrant or a Welsh-born citizen: British authorities claim that he is in fact a Cardiff-born citizen, but a student who knew him personally in a musical theatre company said: The New York Times One day, he suddenly showed up in drama class.
“They are [teachers] “He just moved from quite far away so we wanted to make him feel welcome,” the boy said. “I think he was just trying to try something new and get to know the kids in the area. He was having fun, but musical theatre kids are very outgoing and he wasn’t, so he was very quiet,” he added. “He didn’t really talk about himself.”
He is accused of killing Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancomb, 7, and Alice DaSilva Aguiar, 9. Rudakubana is also charged with 10 counts of attempted murder for allegedly stabbing eight children and two adults who tried to protect them at a children’s event in Southport on Monday.
Meanwhile, Judge Andrew Menary highlighted that riots had erupted across the UK after British media outlets mistakenly reported that someone else had been responsible for the stabbing.
“Continuing to block full reporting has the disadvantage of allowing others to spread misinformation in a vacuum,” Mr Menary said at the second hearing at Liverpool Crown Court.
Police have identified the murder weapon used by the gunman as a curved-blade kitchen knife but have not disclosed a motive for the stabbing.
Rudakubana smiled briefly at reporters during his first appearance at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court wearing a grey tracksuit but remained silent at the Crown Court, covering his face with a sweatshirt that even covered his hair.
The victim’s family was not present in court, nor were the suspect’s parents.
On the other hand, media and news commentators, e.g. BBCAlex Armstrong of the X (Twitter) posted about the suspect’s recent identity being revealed. Many social media users also posted sketches of Rudakbana in court.
Rudakubana reportedly took a taxi in the early hours of Monday morning and went to Heart Space dance school in the seaside town of Southport where he allegedly attacked children and other adults during a dance and yoga class.
The third girl was pronounced dead at hospital on Tuesday, while the other two died at the crime scene.
One of the two injured adults, Leanne Lucas, 35, was teaching a children’s dance class at the time, while the other, John Hayes, was working nearby and ran to the children’s safety after hearing the screams. Both remain in hospital receiving treatment.
Surveillance camera footage released showed the suspect, wearing a green sweatshirt and face mask, strolling through a residential area about 15 minutes from the dance studio just before the mass stabbing.
Police do not believe Rudakbana’s attack was terrorist in nature and have said he likely acted alone.
Rudakbana is due to appear in court in Liverpool later on Thursday.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
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