Two boys were arrested for attempting to carry out ‘copycat crimes’Emily Carubia and James Holt Senior Live and Breaking News Reporter
21:05, 10 Nov 2025
Police cordon off Old School Close, Banks following the incident in Southport last year(Image: Liverpool ECHO)
Two teenage boys have been arrested in separate ‘copycat’ cases for allegedly planning to replicate the horrific crimes of Axel Rudakubana, who murdered three young girls at a dance class in Southport.
Rudakubana was later sentenced to life in prison for killing Bebe King, six, Elsie Stancombe, seven, and Alice Aguiar, nine, during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.
According to Sky News, a 16-year-old boy from Merseyside and a 17-year-old boy have been arrested on suspicion of plotting similar attacks.
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The 16-year-old is accused of planning a “copycat” attack targeting a Taylor Swift-themed event while wearing a green hoodie, mirroring the outfit worn by Rudakubana during his crimes.
Police allege he gathered knives, travelled to Southport, researched local events, and downloaded the same al-Qaeda manual used by Rudakubana to produce the deadly poison ricin.
The teenager also considered attacking his former school after dropping out, and has researched high school shootings in the United States. The 16-year-old was arrested in August and was charged with possessing documents useful for terrorism and making threats to kill. He will enter pleas next month, the ECHO reports.
The second arrest, a 17-year-old from Cwmbran, South Wales, was arrested in June after he reportedly discussed emulating Rudakubana and had researched buying “large knives”. The authorities discovered a note on the boy’s phone titled “places to attack”, which included directions and images of a dance school near his home.
GPS data from his phone also revealed that he had been near the school just days before he was arrested.
The teenager also investigated potential attacks on his own school, and told people on social media that he was planning to target the Oasis reunion concert in Cardiff on July 4. Since his arrest, the 17-year-old has pleaded guilty to possessing a document associated with terrorism.
His case has been adjourned for psychiatric testing over concerns he may have autism spectrum disorder. He will be sentenced in January.
Rudakubana was given an 18-month prison sentence for the same possession offence. He was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 52 years in prison in January this year.
Axel Rudakubana in the back of the taxi on the way to the Southport attack(Image: Merseyside Police)
The two arrests emerge after the first phase of the Southport Inquiry finished, which investigated the potential missed opportunities to prevent Rudakubana from killing.
Lancashire Police’s Assistant Chief Constable Mark Winstanley highlighted that “sadly, there are other children out there with similar interests and behaviours” to Rudakubana.