Exclusive
CHILLING PLOT
Southport killer plotted US-style attack on former school weeks before he killed three girls at dance class
Rudakubana plead guilty to murdering three girls at a Taylor Swift dance class
THE father of Southport murderer Axel Rudakubana stopped him carrying out a US-style attack on his old school a week before he killed three schoolgirls and stabbed ten more.
The teenager — once a would-be actor who starred as Doctor Who in a BBC Children in Need advert — ordered a taxi to take him to Range High in Formby, Merseyside, which had expelled him.
11
11
11
11
The cab was booked for 12.20pm — ten minutes before the 1,100 pupils aged 11-16 were due to break up for summer.
But his martial arts instructor dad came out of the house and remonstrated with Axel, then 17, before sending the driver away from their home in Banks, Lancs.
A source said: “The fear was that he was planning to carry out some kind of massacre at the school.
“His dad managed to persuade him back in the house. There’s no suggestion his dad knew what he was planning. Axel was a complicated kid and his parents did their best with him.”
Read more News
Rudakubana pleaded guilty to 16 charges as:
- The victims' families were not in court to see his plea
- He showed violent behaviour while in high school
- He was reported to anti-terror programme three times
- Footage shows him pacing before getting taxi to dance class
- Prosecutor described attack as "unspeakable" after pleas
Axel was kicked out of Range High in 2019 after pupils said he brought a blade into class and threatened to attack another pupil.
Police were called in and the Year Nine student — then aged just 13 — was sent home, before returning with a hockey stick.
Most read in The Sun
The headmaster intervened before anyone was harmed.
A neighbour said: “He was trouble. There’d been a few issues with other classmates and then one day he just snapped and arrived at class with a knife.
Moment Southport stabbing suspect Axel Rudakubana dressed as Doctor Who in BBC Children in Need promo video aged 11
“Thankfully, nobody was hurt but it’s terrifying to think what he was capable of.
“The other schoolkids had a lucky escape.
“After he was kicked out, he returned with a hockey stick. The school expelled him after that.”
Teachers had concerns about his behaviour from when he entered Year Nine after his family moved from Cardiff, where he was born.
Rudakubana called Childline and told them that he was being racially bullied and was bringing a knife into school to protect himself, it is understood.
One former classmate said: “He was in my year at Range from around 2017 to 2019.
11
“I sat next to him in French. He was OK, fairly quiet. His only interest was gaming.
“He was involved in a fall-out with another boy at school, so one day he burst in armed with a hockey stick and attacked the boy.
“I think the victim suffered a fractured wrist. He was expelled after that, or asked to leave. That was the last I saw of him.”
Neighbours said Rudakubana then spent long periods of time at home before attending two specialist schools — The Acorns in Lancashire, and Presfield High School and Specialist College in Southport, and teachers were concerned about his behaviour.
His attendance at Presfield was less than one per cent.
Rudakubana’s arrest shocked neighbours in the quiet village where he lived — as the family were regarded as reclusive.
11
11
11
11
11
11
They know them as a church-going Christian family, with Rudakubana labelled “Choir Boy” thanks to his love of singing.
They moved to Britain from Rwanda in 2002, initially living in Cardiff, and his mum worked for the university’s dentistry school.
They were heavily involved in the local church and his mother became a stay-at-home parent, while his taxi driver dad Alphonse was described as “very hardworking”.
Rudakubana, who has autism, was described as “quiet” and “introvert” by neighbours in the small cul-de-sac where they lived.
He was said to be “very clingy” to his mother compared to his older brother, who was more “boisterous and would stick his tongue out at you”.
One woman said: “They were a lovely young couple. Mum was a stay-at-home mum. Dad was nice, he went to work every day.”
Residents said the younger Rudakubana was more withdrawn than the rest of his family and was a “recluse” who they rarely saw.
But inside the £80,000 terraced home, the boys could often be heard singing, with Rudakubana showing a keen interest in music from a young age.
He even appeared in a West End musical at London’s Shaftesbury Theatre to help him make friends with other kids.
A former pal said: “I think it was more him trying to branch out and meet kids in the community.
“He was enjoying it but you know, with musical theatre kids, they’re very extroverted.
“He wasn’t, he was very quiet. He didn’t really talk about himself that much.
“The brother was a lot more talkative — his dad came across quite educated, and presentable.”
Another neighbour said Rudakubana could be heard through the walls singing.
She said: “He was a singer. Constantly singing. He was singing gospel stuff.
“You wouldn’t see Axel but you would hear him.”
He also showed an interest in acting, leading to him playing Doctor Who in the Children in Need ad.
Then aged 11, footage showed him emerging from the Tardis in David Tennant’s trademark trenchcoat and tie — before urging the nation to help children by getting involved in fundraising.
The clip, filmed in Blackpool in 2018, was deleted by both the BBC and the Ology child talent agency that represented him following the stabbings.
He was also a member of the Pauline Quirke Acting Academy in Southport, and was pictured collecting an award for “Performer of the Week” a few years before the attack. Like a lot of teen boys, Rudakubana played football and was part of a five-a-side league.
A picture taken a few years before he went on his knife rampage show him innocently smiling at the camera while wearing his school uniform and rucksack.
While living in the Welsh capital, he would also accompany his dad to karate classes as a child.
Read More on The Sun
His parents and brother were relocated in the wake of his attack.
They have not attended any of his court dates and are devastated by his crimes.
Timeline of horror - how the attack unfolded
- 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.
Topics