Axel Rudakubana

Southport attack blamed on ‘catastrophic’ failures by agencies and killer’s ‘irresponsible’ parents

2026-04-13 03:00:00 UTC

Official report says system ‘completely failed’ because some form of violence by Axel Rudakubana had been ‘unambiguously signposted over many years’

Parents failed in 'moral duty' to report Southport killer

2026-04-13 03:00:00 UTC

Southport killer's family and authorities could have prevented deadly attack on dance class, inquiry finds

2026-04-13 03:00:00 UTC

2024_Southport_stabbings#Perpetrator

On 29 July 2024, a mass stabbing targeting young girls occurred at the Hart Space, a dance studio in the Meols Cop area of Southport, Merseyside, United Kingdom. Seventeen-year-old Axel Rudakubana killed three children and injured ten others at a Taylor Swift–themed yoga and dance workshop attended by 26 children. Two girls died at the scene, six injured children and two adults were taken to hospital in a critical condition, and a third girl died the following day.

The day after the attack, rioters clashed with police in Southport and damaged a mosque after misinformation about the attacker's identity – which had not yet been publicly released – was spread online. Over the next few days, mass anti-immigration protests and riots spread nationwide.