Chilling moment masked Southport terrorist storms Taylor Swift dance class to murder three children in massacre
THIS is the chilling moment Southport terrorist Axel Rudakubana storms a Taylor Swift dance class to carry out his murderous rampage.
The 18-year-old stabbed Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, to death on July 29.
Chilling footage released by police shows Rudakubana arriving at the building in the back of a taxi ready to kill.
Hiding behind a surgical mask, the monster refuses to pay the driver, who repeatedly asks him: "Cash or card?"
He then exits the vehicle and makes his way to the community centre, where 26 innocent children had excitedly gathered for the booked-out class.
Rudakubana attempts to gain entry through a large door before sneaking in through an open stairwell to his right.
Once inside, the triple killer unleashed his rampage - slashing at children and adults one-by-one.
Read more on the tragedy
- Axel Rudakubana was sentenced today over the Southport massacre
- The monster told police "I'm glad they're dead" after the horror
- A dance teacher made a heartbreaking victim impact statement
- The families of victims told how their lives were 'shattered in an instant'
- Shocking pictures show a cache of weapons found in Rudakubana's home
- All the missed chances to stop the killer have been revealed
- A Sky News reporter broke down on air while covering the sentencing
The court heard details of the children’s injuries that were so horrific, their parents asked the media not to repeat them.
Rudakubana had a "sickening interest in death" and had made chilling searches for school massacres before carrying out the rampage.
His morbid fascination saw him flagged three times to anti-terror programme Prevent but no further action was taken.
He also contacted Childline in October 2019 and asked, “What should I do if I want to kill somebody?"
As a result, the killer was free to storm the Hart Space community centre and begin senselessly knifing terrified children and adults.
Rudakubana was today jailed for life with a minimum of 52 years after pleading guilty to three counts of murder and ten of attempted murder.
Sentencing, Mr Justice Goose said would have killed all 26 children in the community space if he could have done.
He also said it was highly unlikely that Rudakubana will ever be released.
The teen, who had been due to stand trial before the dramatic U-turn, also admitted two terror offences after police found ricin and an Al-Qaeda manual at his home.
Despite this, police are still not treating the July attack as terror-related.
In harrowing victim impact statements, the families of the victims branded Rudakubana a "coward".
Jenny Stancombe, whose daughter Elsie was murdered, said the killer was "cruel and pure evil".
She added: "We are not going to stand here and list everything you have taken away from us, because we refuse to give you the satisfaction of hearing it.
"We will not let you know anything about her because you don't deserve to know the extraordinary person she was.
"You know what you have done, and we hope the weight of that knowledge haunts you every single day."
Alice's parents told how their lives were "shattered" and turned upside down by her killing.
They said: "It feels like we’re stuck in a 5D horror movie with moving pictures and moments being relived. We can’t get out.
"Some moments are easier than others but every day is the same. Alice is not here when we wake up and she never will be."
Why won't Southport killer die behind bars?
AXEL Rudakubana carried out his twisted rampage when he was 17 years old but despite the horrific nature of his crimes, he will not be given a whole life tariff today.
The rare sentencing order can only be handed down to anyone aged 21 or over.
Due to Rudakubana's age, this means he will not spend the rest of his life in prison.
Whole-life orders can sometimes be considered for those aged 18 to 20 in exceptional circumstances.
Although Rudakubana is now 18, he does not fall into this category due to the fact he was 17 when he committed his offences.
The killer will instead be given a life sentence but with a minimum tariff. This means he must spend that amount of time behind bars before he is considered for release.
Depending on the facts of the offence, the starting point for the minimum time served in prison for an adult ranges from 15 to 30 years.
For an offender under 18 the starting point is 12 years.
In cases where the offender brings a knife to the scene and uses it to commit murder the starting point is 25 years for an offender aged 18 or over and 12 years for an offender aged under 18.
Due to the severity of the case and the number of victims, it is likely Rudakubana will spend decades in jail before he is freed.
The horror unfolded last summer as 26 excited children gathered for the dance class to kick off the summer holidays.
The two-hour event had been organised by instructors Leanne Lucas and Heidi Liddle at The Hart Space.
Just three miles away, Rudakubana had armed himself with a 20cm knife as he prepared to put his murderous plan into action.
Footage showed the killer pacing outside his home before being picked up in the taxi.
Just 30 minutes later, Rudakubana arrived at the community centre as the children sang Taylor Swift songs and made friendship bracelets.
Leanne opened a window due to the summer heat and saw the masked teen outside but thought nothing of it.
But seconds later, the door opened and Rudakubana stormed into the class and began attacking children and adults at random.
Screams rang out as the killer teen systematically made his way through the room stabbing his victims with the black-handled Cerbera kitchen knife.
As the desperate children tried to flee, Rudakubana chased after them and slashed them from behind.
Hero dance teacher Leanne was stabbed in the arms, neck and back as she used her body to shield young girls from the knifeman.
Her colleague Heidi Liddle escaped uninjured after bravely locking some of the children inside a toilet.
Businessman Jonathan Hayes, who was working in the office next door, was attacked after he ran inside and bravely tried to stop the carnage.
At 11.57am - 12 minutes after the rampage began - police stormed the scene.
Officers found Rudakubana holding the large, bloodied kitchen knife and he was arrested.
Police searching the killer's home found a shocking cache of weapons - including knives bought on Amazon and crossbow bolts.
His purchase on the online shop when he was 17 came despite his history of violence.
Rudakubana was also able to buy equipment to make deadly poison ricin, which was also found at his home.
The Sun told how he exploited limited checks allowing blades to be sent without ID, with Amazon now launching an urgent probe.
Chillingly, just one week before the attack, Rudakubana is feared to have plotted a similar attack on his old school.
He booked a taxi - the same way he travelled to the Taylor Swift-themed dance class - under a fake name from his home to take him to the Range High School.
It is believed he'd been planning to target pupils on the last day of term as they broke up for the summer holidays.
But he was stopped from making his journey when his dad ran out and intervened.
Rudakubana was born in Cardiff to Rwandan parents and has an older brother.
He moved to Banks, a village in Lancashire located a few miles from Southport, in 2013.
As a child, Rudakubana displayed vicious behaviour in school as his obsession with violence grew.
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.
The teen, who is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, left Range High School in Formby in around 2019 over claims he brought a blade into class and made threats to attack another pupil.
Police were called in and the Year 9 student - then aged just 13 - was sent home and later expelled.
But he returned to his former school armed with a hockey stick and a "hit list" of students he wanted to attack.
Rudakubana was then sent to a specialist school but teachers became concerned over his behaviour.
His first referral to Prevent came in 2019 when he was aged 13 after he used computers at his own school to search for material on a school massacre.
Two years later, he was flagged again after viewing material on previous terror attacks - including those in London in 2017.
TERROR FEARS
Although there were no concerns over a particular ideology or religious hatred, his obsession with violence had caused fears.
But he was not found to have posed a terrorism risk and therefore did not reach the threshold for intervention by Prevent.
After one of the referrals, it was recommended that Rudakubana be referred to other services but is not known if this happened.
Lancashire Child Safeguarding Partnership said police responded to five calls from his home address - between October 2019 and May 2022 - relating to concerns about his behaviour.
The attack in Southport sparked riots across the country - despite the local community and families of the victims calling for calm.
It came after false claims were spread online that the alleged killer was an asylum seeker.
Sir Keir Starmer said this week that UK will "rightly demand answers” over the horror as he vowed the government will leave "no stone unturned in that pursuit".
Speaking in Downing Street after the government announced a public inquiry, the PM said failings by the state "leap off the page".
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But he continued to deny there had been a "cover up" in the case - although admitted it was "clearly wrong" Rudakubana was deemed not to meet the threshold for intervention from Prevent.
While Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the inquiry would also "consider the wider challenge of rising youth violence and extremism".
