The Southport attack could and should have been stopped by police, social services and the killer's parents, who failed to heed years of warning signs over his escalating obsession with violence.
A bombshell report from the Southport Inquiry found a string of missed chances to halt Axel Rudakubana, who was 17 at the time, before he unleashed his attack of “unparalleled cruelty” on a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop on 29 July 2024. The horrific stabbing claimed the lives of three children and left eight more girls and two adults wounded. Misinformation about the atrocity spread fast on social media, fuelling anti-immigration riots nationwide.
