How Southport attacker Axel Rudakubana turned from karate-loving teen in ‘quiet’ village to a cold-blooded murderer
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A TEENAGER who murdered three little girls turned from a “quiet” schoolboy brought up in a loving Christian family with a flare for musical theatre into a cold-blooded child killer. Axel Rudakubana, 18, targeted children at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class - stabbing three to death and injuring 10 others.
![[Mugshot of Axel Rudakubana.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/undated-handout-photo-issued-merseyside-965245126.jpg?strip=all&w=720)
He’d been born in Cardiff in 2006 to doting, churchgoing parents. The family relocated to the village of Banks, Lancs, in 2013 when he was aged just seven and were valued members of the local community. They were heavily involved in the local church, and his mother was a stay-at-home parent while his dad was described as “very hardworking”.
![[Court sketch of three individuals in court.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/court-artist-sketch-elizabeth-cook-965236469.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
His parents, in their 40s, were originally from Rwanda, were forced to go into hiding following the attack as far-right protesters rioted across the country. Rudakubana, who has autism, was said to be “quiet” and “introvert” by neighbours in the small cul-de-sac where they lived.
![[a young boy in a school uniform and tie is standing in a field .]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/x-com-worldsource24-status-1818983552303665662-921552001.jpg?strip=all&w=769)
He was described as being “very clingy” to his mother compared to his older brother, who was more “boisterous and would stick his tongue out at you”. One woman said: “They were a lovely young couple. They were little boys, they were boisterous.
![[Girl in white dress standing next to lighted cross.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/handout-photo-alice-da-silva-965228142_49d7ca.jpg?strip=all&w=723)
“Mum was a stay-at-home mum, Dad was nice, he went to work every day.”. Residents said Rudakubana was more withdrawn than the rest of his family and was a “recluse” who they rarely saw. But inside the £80,000 terraced home, the boys could often be heard singing, with Rudakubana showing a keen interest in music from a young age.
![[Photo of a young girl wearing a Wicked-themed shirt.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/handout-photo-bebe-king-axel-965228136_24205f.jpg?strip=all&w=720)
