Axel Rudakubana removed from dock AGAIN after another outburst of shouting in court

Rudakubana admitted to 16 charges, including the murder of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine; Bebe King, six; and seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe on Monday.

He also admitted to the attempted murder of 10 people on the same day. This includes eight children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and two adults - Leanne Lucas and John Hayes.

It had previously been reported that Rudakubana "required medical attention" and was taken to hospital in the early hours of this morning. However, Merseyside Police later denied these reports.

The prosecution revealed today that Rudakubana had said "I’m glad they’re dead" as he was held in a custody suite at the court.

Stanley Reiz, defending, said: "He has not eaten for a number of days. He has drunk very little over that period of time. There was concern about his ability to be in a high-pressure situation."

But Justice Goose said he had been reassured that Rudakubana was fit to attend, and the court would continue until 1pm when there would be a break. Rudakubana shouted: "I can’t remain quiet. I haven’t eaten for 10 days. I feel ill. I’m not going to remain quiet."

Reiz told the court Rudakubana said he was "experiencing chest pains and felt too ill to continue, and would like to see a paramedic. It’s important that this case continues, but those are my instructions".

Justice Goose said: "I'm going to continue with these proceedings for the time being," but Rudakubana interrupted, saying: "I feel ill, judge. I feel ill. I'm going to pass out. No. I can't continue with this."

The judge responded by saying: "I’ve asked you to be quiet." The prosecution was asked to continue but Rudakubna shouted: "I can’t continue with this, judge. No, no it can’t continue judge. I need to speak to a paramedic. I need to speak to a paramedic. My chest is hurting."

As he was escorted out of the hearing, a member of the public gallery shouted "coward" at the defendant.

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The prosecution continued by outlining the details of the case with the court shown CCTV of the moments leading up to the horror stabbing.

Deanna Heer KC, leading the prosecution, told the court how the instructor recalled children running down the stairs, she followed them into the car park and called 999.

One parent and a nearby office worker heard screaming and saw children "running across the car park" as the attack began, while police arrived at the scene just before midday to scenes of mass panic.

CCTV footage shows Rudakubana was wearing a green hoodie and face mask at the time of the attack.

Sobbing could be heard in the courtroom as CCTV footage clips showing injured children running from the building were shown.

Body-cam footage showed the moment officers confronted Rudakubana, told him to drop his knife and handcuffed him.

Other footage showed the moment Heidi Liddle, who hid in a bathroom with a girl attending the dance class, was found by police.

Elsie Dot Stancombe and Bebe King's injuries were deemed so severe that they could not have been saved.

Alice Da Silva Aguiar managed to escape the building and was taken to hospital but died from her injuries the morning after the attack.

Several other children, who cannot be named due to a court order, sustained life-threatening injuries during the attack but survived.

The court also heard how dance instructor Leanne Lucas was stabbed five times and taken to hospital in a life-threatening condition.

Upon returning from lunch, Reiz told the court: "I understand the defendant has been seen again and found to be fit. For the moment, he continues to indicate he would disrupt proceedings. The most recent information is he’s willing to come back into court. He understands it is important not to disrupt proceedings."

“I will want him to come back into court at the point of sentence.”

Rudakubana was allowed back into the dock - but again, started shouting: "I need to be seen again by the paramedic. Judge, judge judge. I need to be seen by the paramedic. I feel ill."

Justice Goose told the court: "Would you remove him please, and we will continue." Paramedics and doctors have cleared the teenager as fit to continue.

The prosecution continued, saying the defendant was arrested, initially on suspicion of attempted murder but soon afterwards on suspicion of murder. Following an assessment by psychiatrists, they found no evidence to warrant diversion under the Mental Health Act and found him fit to be detained and interviewed.

Heer told the court: "In interview, he remained silent throughout. However, whilst in custody he made a number of unsolicited comments, which were recorded on CCTV footage or noted down at the time.

The notes she read to the court were: "I don’t care, I’m feeling neutral", "It’s a good thing those children are dead." "Literally, such a good thing those kids are dead, six-years-old..."I’m so glad the children are dead, so glad", "So happy, six-years-old. It’s a good thing they are dead, yeah."

Police found a document called "Military studies in the Jihad against Tyrants: The Al-Qaeda Training Manual" on a tablet belonging to the defendant, the court heard.

Heer said of particular relevance were: a passage referring to assassination and mass murder, a section called "Assassinations Using Cold Steel: A: Assassinating with a Knife" which gave advice on where the "enemy" should be struck in order to kill; and "Assassinations with Poison," which gave information on the production of ricin and explained that it is considered one of the most deadly poisons.

Prosecutor Deanna Heer KC said there were numerous images relating to different wars and international conflicts, including in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Korea, Iraq and the Balkans.

The court heard a number of documents were found which also related to war, weapons and genocide. She said: "The material found on these devices provides, the prosecution suggest, a window into the defendant’s mind at this time.

"It demonstrates that he was fascinated with violence of an extreme nature, that he had obtained information on killings and how to kill and he had obtained weapons capable of killing. The evidence serves to demonstrates that he had planned to stab and the events at Hart Street were premeditated and had been planned by the defendant for several weeks."

In 2017, he became a pupil at The Range High School, in Formby. The prosecutor said that on October 4, 2019, Rudakubana contacted Childline and asked: "What should I do if I want to kill somebody?"

She said: "In the days that followed he explained that he hated someone at school who’d bullied him. He felt angry and wanted to kill them. He said he had taken a knife to school but would only use it if the person really annoyed him."

The prosecutor said on December 11, 2019, the defendant booked a taxi to take him to The Range High School, where he used a hockey stick to attack another pupil. When the police were called, a kitchen knife was found in his backpack.

Officers found violent content on Axel Rudakubana’s devices including images of dead bodies, victims of torture, beheadings, cartoons depicting killing, violence and rape or which insulted or mocked different religions, including Islam, Judaism and Christianity.

Heer said a referral was made to the police, who visited Rudakubana. She said: "To them he confirmed that he had indeed taken a knife to school and added that he thought he would use it if he became angry. The school was informed. By this time, the defendant had been temporarily excluded.

"But he has admitted taking a knife to school on about 10 occasions, when he did so the school made his exclusion permanent."

Ms Heer said referrals were made to the Multi-Agency Safeguard Hub (MASH), the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) and social services. She said that on October 17, 2019 the defendant was enrolled at The Acorns School, Ormskirk, which is a Pupil Referral Unit.

During his admission meeting, he was asked why he had taken a knife to school. He replied, “To use it”.

Class instructor Leanne Lucas, 36, who was injured by Axel Rudakubana told the court: "As a 36-year-old woman, I cannot stay in my own home alone. As a 36-year-old woman I cannot go to work.

"As a 36-year-old woman I cannot walk down the street without holding my breath as I bypass a person and then glance back to see if they’ve attempted to stab me.

"As a 36-year-old woman I cannot enter a public place without considering how I will get out in the event of an emergency.

"As a 36-year-old woman I cannot give myself compassion or accept praise, as how can I live knowing I survived when children died."

The tearful father of a nine-year-old girl, who cannot be identified, and was stabbed but survived, read out a victim impact statement on behalf of her family. Reading her words, he said: “It has been very hard to deal with what happened to me at Hart Space.

"I struggle with my emotions and I have scars that I know will be with me forever, but I want to look forward. When people in school asked me 'Do you wish you weren’t there that day?'

"I said that, in some ways, I wish I wasn’t, but also, if I wasn’t there, someone else would have been stabbed and they could have died, so I’m glad I might have stopped someone else getting hurt.'

Her father continued: “These are not the words that any little girl, who just liked yoga and making bracelets, should ever need to say. Her words both horrify us and make us immeasurably proud. Our daughter is strong. Our daughter is positive. Our daughter is brave. Our daughter is beautiful.

"Our daughter loves and is loved. Our daughter sees the best in everyone. Our daughter is everything that Axel Rudakabana is not. She is our hero.”

A 14 year old, who cannot be named, told the court: "I watched you stab someone and then I saw you coming for me. It was like slow motion. You stabbed me in the arm and instinctively I turned and that's when you continued to stab me in the back although I didn't feel it at the time. All I could hear was the screams.

"I was so scared of what you were doing and I was in a blind panic. I ran out onto the landing and there was a group of girls huddled and I began just screaming for the girls to get down the stairs.

"I knew I was running for my life. I needed to try to get everyone out and to safety, that was my first thought.

"When we were in the car park, I remember thinking that we needed to get away as you weren't going to stop, I knew from your eyes you wanted to try to kill us all."

Statements from the parents of the murdered trio were also read to the court.

Nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar's mother and father called her a "kind, beautiful, strong and confident" girl and "our purpose for living".

But they have been left "stuck in a 5D horror movie" following Rudakubana's crimes, they said. "In a matter of minutes," they added, "our lives were shattered and turned upside down".

And Jenny Stancombe, Elsie Dot Stancombe's mother, delivered a series of pointed remarks at "evil coward" Rudakubana.

"We are not going to stand here and list everything you have taken away from us, because we refuse to give you the satisfaction of hearing it," Jenny said.

"We will not let you know anything about her because you don't deserve to know the extraordinary person she was.

"You know what you have done, and we hope the weight of that knowledge haunts you every single day.

"What you did was not only cruel and pure evil, it was the act of a coward."

Rudakubana further pleaded guilty to possessing a knife on the date of the killings, which he bought online, production of a biological toxin, ricin, on or before July 29, and possession of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism.

The terrorism offence relates to a PDF file called "Military Studies In The Jihad Against The Tyrants, The Al Qaeda Training Manual", which he is said to have possessed between August 29, 2021, and July 30, 2024.

The ricin, a deadly poison, and the document were found during searches of the home in Old School Close which he shared with his parents, who are originally from Rwanda.

Documents about Nazi Germany, the Rwandan genocide and car bombs were found on Rudakubana’s devices during police searches of his home.

Officers found swathes of violent content on Rudakubana's devices, the court heard, including "numerous images" of wars and international conflicts like Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Korea, Iraq and the Balkans.

The court heard a number of documents were found which also related to war, weapons and genocide.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer addressed the nation on Tuesday to say Britain faces a new threat of terrorism from "extreme violence carried out by loners, misfits, young men in their bedrooms" following the murders.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced an inquiry into the case following Rudakubana’s guilty pleas, including how he “came to be so dangerous” and why Prevent “failed to identify the terrible risk” he posed to others.

Despite a previous conviction for violence, at the age of 17 he was able to order a kitchen knife from Amazon which he used to fatally stab the girls, and Cooper said the Government will “bring in stronger measures to tackle knife sales online in the Crime and Policing Bill this spring.”