The brother of Southport attacker Axel Rudakubana testified that he believes his sibling targeted children because it would "hurt societies particularly badly." Dion Rudakubana gave evidence at the public inquiry in Liverpool Town Hall investigating the July 29, 2024 attack that killed three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.
Dion told the inquiry: «Children are very valuable to society in that they are society's future and it would hurt societies particularly badly if something like this happened. This is only a thought I have had in retrospect.» Axel Rudakubana murdered Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9, and attempted to murder 10 others.
Day of the attack
Dion recounted seeing his brother leave their family home wearing a face mask on the day of the killings. He testified: «I was going to go into the shower on the landing. He came upstairs, walked into his room, turned round, closed the door and then went out of the house.» When asked by counsel Richard Boyle if his worry was that his brother would "go out to carry an attack," Dion replied: "Initially, potentially, yes."
Dion said he did not contact police because his concern "was not sufficient for me to do so." He explained: «I did not believe he intended to harm anyone and thought if he was carrying a knife it was to protect himself, not to harm others.»
School expulsion and bullying
The inquiry heard that Axel Rudakubana was expelled from Range High School on October 9, 2019, after allegedly carrying a knife. Dion testified in a written statement that his brother was being bullied and questioned whether the school "tried to make an example of AR when they expelled him, rather than supporting him or trying to understand his situation."
Axel Rudakubana was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 52 years after admitting the offences on the first day of his trial in January 2025. The inquiry is examining potential missed opportunities to prevent the attack.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
