EXCLUSIVE: Taylor Swift Dance Class Stabbing Victims Didn't Have to Die — Radar Reveals How Authorities Missed Knife Massacre Horror 'Waiting to Happen'
Axel Rudakubana killed three young girls onJuly 29, 2024.
April 18 2026, Published 5:00 p.m. ET
Taylor Swift dance class stabbing victims did not have to die, a public inquiry has found, concluding the Southport attack was a preventable tragedy marked by missed warnings and systemic failures.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the report into the July 29, 2024, killings of three young girls at a Swift-themed lesson in Southport in Merseyside, England, sets out how Axel Rudakubana, 17, was repeatedly flagged to authorities over escalating violent behavior but remained free to inflict his horrific killing spree.
Inquiry Finds Systemic Failures in Preventing Fatal Attack
Sir Adrian Fulford led the public inquiry into the Southport tragedy.
Sir Adrian Fulford, the retired High Court judge leading the inquiry into the horror, said the teenager's parents, police, and multiple public agencies all failed to intervene effectively.
The inquiry examined the roles of agencies, including social services, mental health teams, youth justice services, as well as online retailers, and identified a pattern of inaction despite clear warning signs.
Sir Adrian said in a damning summation: "In my judgment, the events of July 29, 2024, have exposed a significant gap in the mechanisms by which the public are provided protection, including by way of adoption by the Prevent programme.
"He added the case represented a "clearly signposted disaster waiting to happen."
Prevent Program Criticized for Missing High-Risk Individual
Authorities flagged Axel Rudakubana multiple times for escalating violent behavior.
Rudakubana had been referred to the government's Prevent de-radicalization scheme three times, but each referral was dismissed because he was judged not to hold a fixed ideology.
Sir Adrian said this revealed a structural weakness in how authorities identify risk, noting his "grave concerns" about individuals "fixated" on violence falling outside the program's remit.
The inquiry also highlighted a "critical error" in December 2019, when Rudakubana searched for US school shootings during a lesson and asked to see an image of a severed head.
Despite these warning signs, Greater Manchester Police did not request his browsing history. Sir Adrian added, "Any competent analysis of the browsing history would have identified the concerning searches."
Police and Agencies Accused of Ignoring Repeated Warning Signs
Police found Rudakubana carrying a knife on a bus in March 2022.
Officials were also found to have relied too heavily on Rudakubana's autism diagnosis, using it to explain away violent behavior.
Sir Adrian said: "This was both unacceptable and superficial" – and left the teenager "unmanaged." Agencies repeatedly closed his case when he failed to attend appointments, reflecting what the report described as an 'insipid response' from youth justice services.
In March 2022, Rudakubana was found on a bus carrying a knife and told officers he wanted to stab someone. He was not arrested but treated as vulnerable and returned home.
The report said this decision, along with subsequent referrals to mental health services, demonstrated a failure to recognize the risk he posed.
Amazon and Online Activity Scrutinized in Damning Report
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The suspect built a collection of weapons including machetes and a sledgehammer.
Rudakubana was able to build a collection of weapons, including knives, machetes, a bow and arrow and a sledgehammer.
The inquiry also criticized Amazon's UK head, John Boumphrey, after evidence showed the teenager had ordered the murder weapon by entering his father's details.
Boumphrey told the inquiry the company "typically" wouldn't report suspicious purchases and admitted it had "got the balance wrong.
"Sir Adrian said it was of "profound concern that it took an incident of this magnitude to prompt it into instituting new processes," adding: "The consequences of these lax and inadequate safeguards contributed significantly to the profound and tragic consequences in this case."
The report also detailed Rudakubana's extensive online activity, including viewing violent and misogynistic content.
Sir Adrian said the material "fed" his obsession with violence, while agencies failed to investigate his internet use. The inquiry found his "false and self-serving replies were far too readily accepted" when questioned.
