An 18-year-old teen accused of killing three girls and injuring 10 others in a stabbing spree at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in England entered not guilty pleas on Wednesday. Axel Rudakubana, who has chosen to remain silent in court, faced charges including three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder, possession of the poison ricin, and having an al-Qaida manual.
The court entered the not guilty pleas on Rudakubana's behalf during a video appearance at Liverpool Crown Court from a London prison where he is currently detained. The charges stem from an incident on July 29 in the town of Southport, where three girls aged 6 to 9 were killed and 10 others were wounded.
The attack triggered widespread unrest across England and Northern Ireland, with violent clashes and rioting lasting a week. The violence, which resulted in injuries to over 300 police officers and attacks on migrant housing facilities, erupted after false reports linked Rudakubana, a Welsh-born individual of Rwandan descent, to being an asylum seeker.
Following the incident, over 1,200 individuals were arrested, with hundreds receiving prison sentences of up to nine years. A recent report criticized law enforcement for failing to anticipate the scale of the disorder, citing lapses in intelligence gathering from social media and the dark web.
In October, Rudakubana faced additional charges related to the production of the biological toxin ricin and possession of terrorism-related information found on his computer. Despite the severity of the stabbings, authorities have not classified the incident as terrorism due to an unclear motive.
