Axel Rudakubana

On 29 July 2024, a mass stabbing targeting children occurred at a dance studio in Southport, Merseyside, United Kingdom. Three children were killed, and ten others – eight of whom were children – were injured. The attack took place at a Taylor Swift–themed yoga and dance workshop attended by twenty-five children at the Hart Space, a community studio in the Meols Cop area of Southport. Two girls died at the scene, six injured children and two adults were taken to hospital in a critical condition, and a third girl died the following day. Merseyside Police said on the day of the attack that they were not treating it as terror-related and a motive for the attack was not subsequently identified. Axel Rudakubana was arrested at the scene and was charged with three counts of murder, ten counts of attempted murder, and possession of a bladed article. He was also charged with separate offences 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. He pleaded guilty to all 16 charges on 20 January 2025 as his trial was due to begin, having initially entered a not-guilty plea. The day after the attack, far-right protesters clashed with police in Southport and damaged a mosque after misinformation about the attacker's identity was spread online. Over the next few days, protests and riots spread nationwide.