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The Southport attack could have been prevented if Axel Rudakubana’s parents and multiple agencies had acted, a public inquiry has found.
The teenagers’ parents, Alphonse Rudakubana and Laetitia Muzayire, could have stopped their son from murdering three children if they had ‘done what they morally ought to have done’, Southport Inquiry chairman Sir Adrian Fulford said in his report today.
Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were murdered by Rudakubana during a Taylor Swift-themed dance workship on July 29, 2024.
The killer is currently serving a minimum of 52 years in prison for the attack.
In his 763 page report, Sir Adrian said Rudakubana’s mum and dad ‘created significant obstructions’ for various agencies to engage with their son and failed to stand up to his behaviour and set boundaries.
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The judge also pointed the blame at the organisations and agencies who ‘failed’ to ‘take ownership of the risk posed by Rudakubana before the attack.
He said: ‘I have no doubt that if appropriate procedures had been in place and if sensible steps had been taken by the agencies and AR’s parents, this dreadful event would not have happened.
‘It could have been and it should have been prevented.’
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