Southport Stabbing: 18-year-old pleads guilty to murder at Taylor Swift-Themed dance class

Axel Rudakubana, 18, pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder on Monday, the first day of his trial for a knife attack at a dance class last July in Southport, England, which killed three children and injured 10 others.

Mr. Rudakubana faces three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9, who were taking part in Taylor Swift’s summer bracelet-making dance class. take a break from school.

He was also charged with attempted murder of 10 people, including eight other children and two adults, and possession of a knife during the July 29 attack.

After the stabbing, the police searched the house of Mr. Rudakubana claims to have found ricin, a deadly poison, and a PDF file titled “Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants: The Al Qaeda Training Manual.”

Mr. Rudakubana was then charged with producing biological toxins and “having information of a kind that may be useful to a person who commits or prepares a terrorist act.”

On Monday, Mr. Rudakubana, who initially pleaded not guilty, appeared in court and confessed to all the charges against him.

Authorities have not yet identified the episode as an act of terrorism. Serena Kennedy, Merseyside’s chief constable, who oversees policing in the region, said in a statement in October that “in order to declare a case as a terrorist incident, an incentive has to be established.” He added, “We will strongly advise against anyone who speculates on the motivation of this case.”

The case continues at Liverpool Crown Court and was expected to last for about four weeks, but now there are plans to sentence Mr. Rudakubana on Thursday.

Mr. Rudakubana was born in Cardiff, Wales, to parents of Rwandan origin. He was living in Banks, a village north of Southport, when he was attacked.

Last week, Britain’s attorney general, Richard Hermer, issued an official advisory reminding social media users and journalists of the dangers of contempt of court and warned that inaccurate or speculative comments could influence jury deliberations. Anything that asserts or takes the case of Mr. Rudakubana could jeopardize the trial, he warned.

After the Southport attack, Britain was rocked by a series of violent riots, as misinformation about the attacker’s identity spread on social media and messaging apps. False claims that the suspect is an undocumented immigrant or a recent asylum seeker are being promoted by anti-immigration activists and members of the far right.

Several people, including neo-Nazis, were later found to have helped orchestrate the outbreak of riots, which included attacks on mosques and hotels where asylum seekers were staying, and resulted in dozens of police injuries.

Mr. Rudakubana was 17-years-old at the time of the attack and, under English court rules, his name would normally not be revealed until he was 18. trying to combat the spread of false information.

Since the riots broke out last summer, hundreds of people have been charged for their involvement in the violence across the country, and scores of people have been sentenced to prison.

Yvette Cooper, Britain’s home secretary, said in a statement on Monday morning that the case would be “a very sad and distressing time for the families of Alice, Bebe and Elsie, the survivors, and the people of Southport and the whole country.”

“The most important thing for all of us is to ensure that the legal process can take its place, to respect the difficult work that must be done by the court so that there is a fair trial and justice is done,” he added.