UK stabbing suspect Axel Muganwa Rudakubana ‘smiles’ in first court appearance

The smirking teenager accused of murdering three girls at a Taylor Swift dance class was unmasked as Axel Muganwa Rudakubana after a judge refused to conceal the minor’s identity.

The 17 year old accused of murdering three young girls at a Taylor Swift dance class “smiled” during his first court appearance.

Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, who turns 18 in days, was unmasked after a UK judge refused to conceal his identity despite still being a minor.

Wearing a baggy grey tracksuit and black slippers, Rudakubana appeared before a Liverpool Court on three counts of murder and 10 of attempted murder.

Before he was asked to sit down, Rudakubana looked at the row of reporters and smiled, according to The Mirror.

The suspect, left, is accused of killing three girls, right, and attempting to kill 10 more Picture: Supplied

The grinning suspect then covered his face for the remainder of the hearing before being remanded in youth custody.

It comes as Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the deployment of mass surveillance across the United Kingdom to tackle “mobile thugs” following clashes between police and protesters over the murder of three girls.

Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, were killed in the horrific stabbing rampage in Southport, in the northwest of England.

Axel Muganwa Rudakubana turns 18 in days.

Mr Starmer also appeared to threaten big tech CEOs like Elon Musk that it was a crime to “whip up” violent disorder on platforms like Twitter/X and Facebook.

“Let me also say to large social media companies and those who run them, violent disorder clearly whipped up online … that is also a crime,” Mr Starmer said.

“It’s happening on your premises, And the law must be upheld everywhere.”

A fundraiser for the families of the three young girls has been set up, with A$679,156 already raised.

Riots and violence broke out across Southport, London, Manchester and Hartlepool since the mass stabbing sparked outrage throughout the UK.

False social media speculation about the suspect fuelled violent clashes in which bricks were thrown at a mosque, police cars were set alight, at least 53 officers were hurt, and 111 people arrested.

Judge Andrew Menary KC said his “exceptional” decision not to place a gag order on the identity of Rudakubana, who turns 18 on August 6 (local time), was to stop the spread of “misinformation”.

“Continuing to prevent the full reporting has the disadvantage of allowing others to spread misinformation, in a vacuum,” he said.

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer holds emergency meeting with police. Picture: AFP

Rudakubana was born in Cardiff to parents who immigrated from Rwanda, but had moved to the village of Banks, just outside of Southport, in 2013.

Neighbours said Rudakubana, and his older brother, were “boisterous” little boys and their parents were “a lovely young couple”, according to the BBC.

During his brief appearance, Rudakubana reportedly rocked from side to side while keeping his face covered.

Rudakubana was denied bail and remanded into youth custody until a plea hearing at Liverpool Crown Court on October 25. A provisional, six week trial was scheduled for January 20, 2025.

After the suspect’s identity was revealed, a police cordon was put in place around his family home.

It is feared the family’s home, newly built in a cul-de-sac of a dozen or so houses, could attract further protests.

After an emergency meeting with police leaders, Mr Starmer announced a new national policing unit that would include sharing intelligence, deploying facial recognition technology more widely, and using criminal behaviour orders to restrict the movement of people.