Man who confronted Axel Rudakubana moments before Southport attack had no idea of ‘unspeakable’ horror ahead
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Exclusive: Colin Parry said ‘evil’ Axel Rudakubana ‘knew what he was here for’ as he relived encounter with killer. A garage owner who confronted Axel Rudakubana just before the Southport attack said he had no idea of the “unspeakable” horror the agitated teen was about to unleash - as he called for him to never see the light of day again.
![[Rudakubana, 18, pleaded guilty to 16 offences including three murders and 10 attempted murders in court on Monday]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/21/12/41a432f035a2625258a91cf485ef1b79Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzM3NTQ5NTg1-2.78748434.jpg)
Reliving the horrific events for the first time since 18-year-old Rudakubana pleaded guilty, Colin Parry said all he could see was the killer’s eyes when the knifeman, wearing a bright green hoodie and Covid face mask, arrived on Hart Street in a taxi and took a wrong turn into the entrance of his garage.
![[From left to right: Six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, died in the attack]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/08/20/13/ea5322c89083df8ddf632febf13c615cY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzI0MjQ0NDEw-2.77002632.jpg)
When the 63-year-old swore at him and told him to pay the driver, who had followed to demand payment, Rudakubana leant forward and replied: “What you gonna do?”. “He’s agitated, shuffling around because the lad realises he’s in the wrong place, yeah, and walks out,” he told The Independent. “Doesn’t run out. He just walked out, but he pushed past the taxi.”.
![[Hart Street in Southport, pictured on the day of Rudakubana’s knife attack]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/21/04/d9a7abe4fa245074dfd0650530bbfee7Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzM3NDg0NTgw-2.78747726.jpg)
Moments later screams were heard from the Hart Space studio next door, where 26 girls were making bracelets and singing at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday class. By the time Mr Parry arrived at the scene, his colleague was running out carrying an injured child who he laid on the floor in front of him. His white spray suit was soaked red with blood, he recalled.
![[Sir Keir Starmer warned “terrorism has changed” as he launched a public inquiry into the atrocity]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/21/11/54278036717_66b9916080_o.jpg)
