The horrific attack occurred at the Hart Space, a dance studio in the Meols Cop area of Southport, Merseyside, on July 29, 2024. Rudakubana murdered three girls—Bebe King, 6; Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7; and Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9—with two dying at the scene and the third the following day. He seriously wounded eight other children and two adults, totaling ten injured victims in addition to the three killed. Rudakubana was charged with three counts of murder, ten counts of attempted murder, and possession of a bladed article, later pleading guilty to all 16 charges on January 20, 2025, after initially entering a not-guilty plea.
The workshop was organized by yoga teacher Leanne Lucas and Heidi Liddle, advertised as a yoga, dance, and bracelet-making event themed around Taylor Swift for children ages 6–11, scheduled from 10:00 to 12:00 BST. Rudakubana arrived at Hart Street by taxi shortly before 11:45, booked under the false name 'Simon'. In the immediate aftermath, police officers Sgt Greg Gillespie, PC Luke Holden, and PCSO Tim Parry rushed to tackle Rudakubana without waiting for firearms officers, while window cleaner Joel Veritie entered the building alongside them and carried Bebe's body outside. Taxi driver Gary Poland, who took Rudakubana to the scene, drove away when he saw screaming children streaming out; he did not call the police for around 50 minutes, even taking another fare in the meantime.
Rudakubana's background reveals a transformation from a shy, autistic child with a passion for music into a genocide-obsessed loner immersed in online violence. He was expelled from school at age 13 for taking a knife into lessons on at least ten occasions. After expulsion, Rudakubana never returned to full-time schooling, becoming a recluse who refused to leave home. He built up an arsenal of weapons, including ingredients for ricin, while viewing violent imagery online. Rudakubana was later separately charged under the Biological Weapons Act 1974 and Terrorism Act 2000 in relation to the possession of ricin and a military study of an Al-Qaeda training manual, though no motive for the stabbings was identified; the prosecution suggested it could have been the commission of mass murder as an end in itself and no evidence of terrorism was found.
A public inquiry chaired by Sir Adrian Fulford found the attack was preventable and resulted from multiple systemic failures. Rudakubana was referred to the Prevent program three times, but his case was dismissed each time because he lacked a fixed ideology. Sir Adrian Fulford expressed grave concerns that individuals fixated on violence do not come under Prevent's remit, calling it a significant gap. Greater Manchester Police failed to request Rudakubana's browsing history during a Prevent referral in December 2019, missing concerning searches. Sir Adrian concluded that if agencies had acted competently from December 2019 onwards, the attack would not have occurred.
Parental failures were also highlighted, with the inquiry finding that Rudakubana's parents, Alphonse Rudakubana and Laetitia Muzayire, failed to report his obsession with violence and hoarding of weapons to police. Sir Adrian Fulford criticized the parents for being too ready to excuse and defend their son's actions and having an irresponsible and harmful attitude. The inquiry looked at how Rudakubana's parents minimized and sometimes hid his disturbing behavior, and how he was able to lay his hands on a cache of dangerous weapons. Rudakubana's father said his son's behavior deteriorated rapidly after being expelled from mainstream education in October 2019 for admitting to carrying knives at Range High School in Formby, Merseyside, and the inquiry revealed that his parents were living in fear of their son, who threatened them to the point his father feared for his life.
I withheld information about how bad things were in the home because I didn't want my son to be taken away.
Broader institutional criticisms emerged, with at least six public bodies, including police forces, NHS mental health services, and social services, criticized in the report. Rudakubana's parents, Elon Musk's social media firm X, and four knife retailers are likely to face censure in the report. No consideration was given to putting Rudakubana on a child protection order to remove him from home, despite evidence his parents were struggling. Sir Adrian Fulford found that officials repeatedly used Rudakubana's autism diagnosis to excuse his violent behavior, which he called unacceptable and superficial.
In legal proceedings, Rudakubana pleaded guilty to all charges, including the additional terrorism-related counts. The Crown Prosecution Service handled the case, which was heard at Liverpool Crown Court.
The government response was swift, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer promising to overhaul terrorism laws to include non-ideological acts of violence and appointing David Anderson to lead a review of the Prevent programme. The Southport Inquiry, commissioned by then Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, examined interactions between Rudakubana and different agencies ahead of the attack.
The inquiry made 67 recommendations covering themes like weapons purchasing, online harms, policing, and social care. The first phase of the Southport Inquiry finished in November, while the second phase due to start in 2026 will examine how young people become drawn into extreme violence.
Social consequences were severe, with the day after the attack seeing rioters clash with police in Southport and damage a mosque after misinformation about the attacker's identity was spread online. Over the next few days, mass anti-immigration protests and riots spread nationwide.
Key unknowns persist, including what specific actions will be taken against Rudakubana's parents, Elon Musk's social media firm X, and the four knife retailers mentioned in the report. How the 67 recommendations from the inquiry will be implemented, and by what timeline, is also undetermined. Additionally, the exact contents of Rudakubana's concerning online searches that Greater Manchester Police missed have not been disclosed, and what specific changes will be made to the Prevent program to address the gap for individuals fixated on violence without a fixed ideology remains to be seen.