17-Year-Old Boy Charged With Murder of 3 Kids After Stabbing at Taylor Swift-Themed Event

A teenage boy has been charged with the murders of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed children's dance class in England.

Axel Rudakubana, 17, who faces three counts of murder plus 10 counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a bladed article after the fatal stabbing of Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, in Southport July 29, made his first appearance in court Aug. 1.

Authorities had previously kept Rudakubana's name under wraps due to him being underage—he turns 18 Aug. 7—but the judge did not impose any reporting restrictions on his identity, following press inquiries. Merseyside Police said in a statement Aug. 1 that the teen is from Banks, a village in Lancashire, England.

Rudakubana covered his mouth and nose with his gray prison-issued sweatshirt as Judge Andrew Menary entered the courtroom and did not respond, sitting with his head bowed, when asked to confirm his name, the Liverpool Echo reported.

readTaylor Swift “Completely in Shock” After Stabbing Attack at Themed Event in England

The judge remanded him into custody after the hearing. "You are remanded into youth accommodation detention until proceedings are completed," Menary said, according to the newspaper. "I am not granting you bail today."

A plea and trial preparation hearing has been set for Oct. 25.

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Police had arrested Rudakubana the day of the killings at the "Taylor Swift Yoga and Dance Workshop" at Hart Space Studio, in which eight other children and two adults were also found with stab wounds.

“It is understood that the children were attending a Taylor Swift event at a dance school when the offender armed with a knife walked into the premises and started to attack the children inside," Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said at a July 29 press conference. “We believe that the adults who were injured were bravely trying to protect the children who were being attacked.”

Merseyside Police

Police are still investigating the tragedy. "This remains very much a live investigation," Kennedy said in an Aug. 1 statement, "and we continue to work with our partners from Lancashire Police and Counter Terrorism Policing North West (CTPNW).

Helen Tipper/BBC News

Following the attack, Swift, who is on her Eras World Tour, expressed her condolences to the victims and their loved ones.

"The horror of yesterday’s attach in Southport is washing over me continuously, and I’m just completely in shock,” the singer wrote on her Instagram Story July 30. “The loss of life and innocence, and the horrendous trauma inflicted on everyone who was there, the families, and first responders."

She continued, “These were just little kids at a dance class. I am at a complete loss for how to ever convey my sympathies to these families."