Axel Rudakubana, 18, was sentenced to a minimum of 52 years for the murders of three young girls and the attempted murders of eight children and two adults at a Taylor Swift dance class in Southport. While the judge acknowledged that Rudakubana's actions were 'equivalent in its seriousness to terrorist murders', prosecutors stated there was no evidence of a political, religious, racial, or ideological cause. Rudakubana's devices contained violent content, including images of dead bodies, torture, beheadings, and documents on genocide.
Police chiefs have moved to explain why the Southport stabbings atrocity wasn't treated as an act of terrorism.
She said there was a specific definition of terrorism the court had to apply that was defined by section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2000. Ms Heer said terrorism means the use or threat of action where it is designed to influence a government or to intimidate the public or a section of the public. Officers found violent content on 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, the court heard.
Police also found a document called 'Military studies in the Jihad against Tyrants: The Al-Qaeda Training Manual' on a tablet belonging to him.
TERRORISM STABBINGS MURDER VIOLENCE PSYCHIATRIC
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