Three young girls were stabbed to death at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event in Southport, England, and the attack could have been prevented, according to a public inquiry report published Monday.
Background
Axel Rudakubana, 17 at the time of the attack, carried out a frenzied knife assault on July 29, 2024, at the dance class in the northwest England town. Six-year-old Bebe King, 7-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and 9-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar were killed. Ten other people were wounded, and sixteen continue to live with serious psychological trauma.
The attack sparked widespread unrest after false rumors spread on social media — amplified by far-right figures — that the attacker was Muslim and had entered the U.K. via a small boat. Violent riots swept across the country for six days, with police making 1,840 arrests and bringing more than 1,100 charges by July 2025.
From as early as 2019, Rudakubana — born in Cardiff, Wales, to Rwandan parents — was in contact with multiple public agencies including police, social services, education, and health care. He was referred multiple times to Prevent, the U.K.'s counter-extremism program, after concerns about his fixation on violence, including school shootings and mass casualty attacks.
The Investigation
The public inquiry heard evidence over nine weeks. Its head, Sir Adrian Fulford, wrote in his report that the attacker's trajectory toward grave violence was signposted repeatedly and unambiguously, but agencies failed to act with the cohesion, urgency or clarity required.
The inquiry found a lack of clarity over whether Prevent should handle individuals like Rudakubana — those with a fascination with violence but no fixed ideology. The report concluded it was simply the wrong decision not to pursue further action.
Just six days before the killings, clinicians under the care of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services — with whom Rudakubana had been for five years — concluded he posed no risk to others. The report also found repeated failures in information-sharing between government agencies, with risk details lost or diluted over time.
The inquiry criticized the attacker's family for creating significant obstructions to constructive engagement with authorities, including minimizing or defending his behavior. Fulford wrote that if the full extent of family concerns had been shared, it is almost certain this tragedy would have been prevented.
Among materials later recovered from his devices were an al-Qaeda training manual, anti-Muslim and antisemitic material, and documents on multiple conflicts including the genocide in Rwanda.
Key Takeaways
- Three girls ages 6, 7 and 9 killed in July 29, 2024 knife attack at Taylor Swift dance class in Southport
- Rudakubana pleaded guilty to three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and terrorism offenses
- He is currently serving a prison sentence of at least 52 years
- Inquiry found agencies failed to act on repeated warning signs from as early as 2019
- Six days before attack, mental health clinicians concluded he posed no risk to others
- Family minimized his behavior and obstructed engagement with authorities
What's Next
The inquiry's second phase will examine why a growing number of young people are being drawn toward extreme violence without a clear ideological framework. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised fundamental changes in response to the findings.