The Japan Times - Axel Rudakubana: troubled teen whose knife rampage shocked Britain

Rudakubana is set to be sentenced on Thursday and faces a long custodial term after pleading guilty to murdering three young girls at a dance class in Southport in northwest England, in a shock admission just before his trial had been due to open.

Official statements and media reports have portrayed him as a reclusive teenager who became obsessed with online violence, barely emerging from his bedroom or communicating with his family.

The Crown Prosecution Service, which brings prosecutions in England and Wales, said he was "a young man with a sickening and sustained interest in death and violence" who had shown no sign of remorse.

Even though he and his family had frequent contact with police and social services, they ultimately failed to stop him carrying out an attack triggered a week of riots.

Rudakubana was born in Cardiff in Wales to parents who came to the UK from Rwanda in the years following the 1994 genocide.

The family settled in a coastal village called Banks in northwest England, where Rudakubana attended school and was part of a local theatre group, appearing in a Doctor Who-themed advert for a BBC children's fundraiser.

Rudakubana, who has an autism spectrum diagnosis, was described by fellow students as being "odd" and a loner at school, according to reports.

He was expelled when he was a young teenager for carrying a knife to school and later assaulting students with a hockey stick, for which he was convicted.

The Times newspaper reported he had claimed he was protecting himself from "racist bullies".

- Kitchen knife -

His teachers referred him to the authorities in 2019 for viewing violent material, five years before he would commit the worst mass killing of children the UK has seen since the 1996 Dunblane massacre in Scotland.

Rudakubana has confessed to killing Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, as well as the attempted murder of 10 others.

Armed with a 20-centimetre (8-inch) kitchen knife he bought on Amazon days before his 18th birthday, Rudakubana went on a rampage at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport on July 29, 2024.

During his court appearances, he barely uttered a word except to say "guilty" to 16 charges.

He had admitted carrying a knife 10 times before carrying out the July stabbings, interior minister Yvette Cooper told MPs.

The British government has confirmed Rudakubana was referred to the UK's anti-extremism scheme, Prevent, three times between 2019 and 2021, reportedly for looking at images of terror attacks and war on school computers.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has now ordered a public inquiry into why he slipped through the cracks.

- 'Obsession with violence' -

After leaving mainstream education in 2019 and being enrolled in specialist schools, Rudakubana became increasingly isolated and his school attendance dropped.

Social workers reportedly required a police escort when visiting him at the family home.

By February 2023, Rudakubana had stopped engaging with mental health services.

Police searches of his house after the attack revealed "numerous documents" that indicated an "unhealthy obsession with extreme violence", said Merseyside Chief Constable Serena Kennedy.

They detailed violent upheavals from history, including the Rwandan genocide, and other images of machetes and knives were found.

Starmer said on Tuesday that the face of "terrorism has changed", expressing concerns about younger people withdrawing to online worlds and staying away from school after the pandemic.

According to child services, the teenager had "struggled to re-integrate into school" after he was excluded, which "was exacerbated by the pandemic".

His family has been left "devastated" by the events, said the church his father Alphonse attended. And they have now been moved by police to a secret location for their protection.

S.Yamamoto--JT