An inquiry into Southport killer Axel Rudakubana has revealed that he was in possession of large amounts of anti-Islam material, including “highly offensive” cartoons and other inappropriate material.
Rudakubana, 19, was sentenced to a minimum of 52 years for the “sadistic” murders of three young girls last July.
The victims were Alice Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, who were killed at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on 29 July last year.
The inquiry shed light on Rudakubana’s personal beliefs and potential motivations, revealing tablets and books showing his apparent interest in religion.
The documents on the killer’s tablets included an interest in the fight against ISIS in Mosul, the Muslim Russian republic of Chechnya, Nazi Germany, the Zulu War in South Africa in 1879, violent punishments dealt to slaves, and a book on the Rwandan genocide, where Rudakubana’s parents were born.
There were also many downloaded images related to slavery of women and anti-Islamic material, anti-Semitic material, images of Nazi victims, and Twin Tower al Qaeda related material.
The anti-Islamic material, which still remains unclear from the enquiry, was described as being “quite voluminous” according to DCI Jason Pye.
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He also had a deep “fascination with violence and inappropriate material,” the inquiry found, yet also prefaced that he was “not somebody who was motivated by any particular religion, or racial hatred.”
Rudakubana had also downloaded a 190 page document titled “Military Studies in The Jihad Against The Tyrants”, commonly referred to as the “al Qaeda training manual” in 2021.
This document was at the root of speculation last July which triggered anti-Muslim riots in Southport, giving way to the belief that the killer was an “Islamist terrorist.”
The so called al Qaeda training manual was a legal publication available widely online including at American universities and also sold by Waterstones, Blackwells and eBay at the time of the murders.
He was previously referred to the “Prevent” de-radicalisation scheme three times in 2021 for violent material he was viewing at school, but this case was closed in May of 2021.
The family of the killer also believe that his fascination with violence came from his “interest in studying history.”
At Rudakubana’s hearing, a thorough review of his two tablets showed PDF documents “suggestive of violence, an interest in religion and conflict,” Nicholas Moss KC, counsel said.
Some of these materials were reportedly “more extreme” than others, with some being academic textbooks, and others displaying “overt violence,” Moss added.
Despite this, Rudakubana’s case was not deemed an act of religious or ideologically motivated terror, hence why his case was not taken over by counter-terrorism police.
False information about Axel Rudakubana
Following the murders back in July 29 of 2024, false information spread online about the killer, claiming he was a Muslim migrant of asylum seeker.
What followed was violent protests in Southport, spreading to other parts of the UK, fuelled by fervent misinformation.
Local mosques were even attacked, with over 50 police officers sustaining injuries in the clashes.
Nicholas Moss KC, a barrister on the case, asked chief investigators if there was evidence to suggest that Rudakubana “had subscribed to an extreme form of Islam, or Islam at all.”
Det Ch Insp Pye replied, saying: “There wasn’t, and that was something we kept very open minded about all the way through the investigation.”
DCI Pye confirmed the opposite, that he had a series of anti-Islamic material, including cartoons, which would be “deeply offensive” to anyone of the faith.
