Southport: Teenage boy, 17, accused of murdering girls named as Axel Rudakubana for first time
ITV News Amy Welch has the latest on the teenage suspect and and the impact on the community
A 17-year-old boy accused of murdering three girls who were stabbed at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport has been named and pictured for the first time.
Axel Rudakubana, from Banks in Lancashire, is charged with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder.
The teenager could previously not be named because of his age but would have lost anonymity when he turns 18 on Wednesday 7 August.
But restrictions were lifted early after a crown court judge said it would “remove the mystique” around the defendant’s identity online.
Rudakubana is also charged with possession of a bladed article, which was said in court to be a kitchen knife with a curved blade.
Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, were fatally stabbed on Monday, 29 July, when a knifeman entered a dance class on Hart Street in Southport.
Eight other children suffered knife wounds, two of the injured girls have been released and five others who were critical are now stable.
Two adults - who were identified in court as yoga teacher Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes - are also in a critical state.
The teenager had earlier that day appeared in the dock at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court for a preliminary hearing before appearing before crown court in the same building.
Rudakubana, who spent the entire 55 minutes of the hearing covering his whole face, with his grey sweatshirt pulled up to his hairline, will next appear at Liverpool Crown Court on 25 October.
A provisional trial date, lasting six weeks, was scheduled for 20 January 2025.
A convoy of police vehicles escorts a prison van thought to contain a teenager charged with the murder of three girls stabbed at a dance class in Southport.
Judge Andrew Menary KC told the defendant, who did not acknowledge the judge and continued to keep his head down: “You are remanded to youth detention accommodation until these proceedings have been completed.
“That position might change when you achieve your majority in a short while.”
The judge heard arguments from the prosecution and defence as well as representations from the media about whether reporting of the defendant's identity should be restricted until his 18th birthday.
Rudakubana is due to turn 18 next week, on 7 August.
Judge Menary said: “Continuing to prevent the full reporting has the disadvantage of allowing others to spread misinformation, in a vacuum.”
He added: “Whilst I accept it is exceptional given his age, principally because he is 18 in six days time I do not make an order under section 45.”
Disorder has broken out in some towns in England following the attack, with more than 100 people arrested at a protest in Whitehall on Wednesday, while there was also unrest in Hartlepool, Manchester and Aldershot.
Thousands of people turned out to pay their respects to the victims at a vigil in Southport on Tuesday evening, but violence later erupted outside a mosque in the town with 53 police officers and three police dogs injured.
Police called in support from neighbouring forces in case of further disorder, but the seaside town appeared to remain quiet on Wednesday evening, however unrest developed in other areas of the country.
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