ABC NEWS
A teenager has been sentenced to 52 years in prison for fatally stabbing three girls at a children’s Taylor Swift-themed event in the United Kingdom last year.
Axel Rudakubana, 18, pleaded guilty to all charges, including three counts of murder, earlier this week on the first day of his trial at Liverpool Crown Court.
The horrific stabbing spree unfolded in July in Southport, a seaside town about 20 miles north of Liverpool. Merseyside police said the children were attending a Taylor Swift-themed event at a dance school.
Three girls — 6-year-old Bebe King, 7-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and 9-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar — were killed. Ten people were also injured in the attack, police said.
Rudakubana, from Banks in Lancashire, was initially charged with three counts of murder, as well as 10 charges of attempted murder and one charge of possession of a knife in the incident. He subsequently faced a terror charge for possessing a jihadi training manual and was charged with producing ricin, a toxin. He pleaded guilty to all 16 charges on Monday.
Judge Julian Goose sentenced Rudakubana to a minimum of 52 years for the murder charges, with sentences on the additional charges running concurrently.
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