Southport attacker Axel Rudakubana looks set to spend the rest of his life in prison for murdering three girls.
A teenager who murdered three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, United Kingdom last year has been sentenced to more than 50 years in prison.
Judge Julian Goose said on Thursday that 18-year-old Axel Rudakubana “wanted to attempt to commit mass murder on innocent, happy young girls”.
The judge said he could not impose a life sentence without parole, as Rudakubana was under 18 at the time of the crime.
But the judge said he must serve at least 52 years before being considered for parole, and “it is likely he will never be released”.
Rudakubana was 17 when he was assault on young children in the seaside town of Southport last July.
He killed three girls – Bebe King, aged six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine – and injured eight other children, as well as two adults.
On Monday, Rudakubana confessed to the murders. He also pleaded guilty to 10 counts of attempted murder, producing the deadly poison ricin and possessing an al-Qaeda training manual.
The prosecutor said Rudakubana had no political or religious motive, but had a “long-term obsession with violence, killing, genocide”.
Rudakubana was not in court to hear his sentence. Earlier in the trial, he was removed for disruptive behavior.
Riots
After the Rudakubana attack, far-right activists seized on false reports on social media that the attacker was an asylum seeker who had recently arrived in the UK.
Social media reports began weeks of conflict against migrants with the police and people taken to the streets of the city throughout the UK attack minorities and Muslims.
Rudakubana was born in Cardiff, Wales, to Rwandan Christian parents. The investigators were unable to find a motive for his crimes.
In the years leading up to the attack, Rudakubana was referred to several authorities about his violent interests and activities.
The government has ordered a public inquiry, saying there were serious questions to be answered.
“After one of the most tragic times in our nation's history, we owe it to these innocent young girls and all those affected to deliver the change they deserve, ” said British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
