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One school staff member shared annoyance about what she described as “frightening bureaucracy” which blocked attempts to obtain police, social services, and mental health assistance for the perpetrator, a public inquiry learned.

Violence-obsessed the assailant had assaulted other children, assaulted his own father, and was found in possession of knives between 2019 until July 2024, when he murdered three girls at a dance studio.

However various bodies—among them Prevent, MI5, and social services—were seen to transfer responsibility between them, as revealed during proceedings.

Nicholas Moss KC, lead counsel to Southport Inquiry, said attention would turn during upcoming sessions regarding whether any agencies engaged actually “taken responsibility”.

He said it was “remarkable” that the young man appeared to have specifically chosen female victims when he chose to attack a celebrity-focused dance workshop.

Young Alice Aguiar, Elsie Dot Stancombe, aged seven, and Bebe King, six, were killed while more youths and a pair of adults were critically harmed.

This investigation, conducted within a civic building, was created to explore the perpetrator’s background, his engagements with official bodies and any “missed opportunities” that might have averted what was called “manifestly and extremely cowardly” attack.

Presenting his initial address, Mr Moss said that the “bureaucratic” message was sent by Cheryl Smith, a safeguarding lead from a local institution, who endeavored to get the teenager to be present in education for nearly 12 months.

Counsel explained attempts by the institution “reached a critical point” during 21 March 2023 after the teacher contacted another staff member detailing her efforts to reach out to social services, adolescent support units and the police in an effort to get them to intervene—without success.

The message included: “Aside from forcing entry I am unsure how I can reach this youth.”

Mr Moss stated the first phase of the proceedings is set to review upon a trio of “main issues”—if organizations “assumed ownership or duty” for his case, whether anyone was looking at the “overall picture” of his risk, and what “fundamental change” may be required for existing protocols work.

The barrister noted the perpetrator’s internet use and acquisition of blades—among them bladed tools and bows and arrows—would also be of interest.

The probe heard on the morning of the attack the youth looked up the website X for “an attack on a religious figure”—that showed disturbing footage showing a clergy member assaulted at a place of worship.

Mr Moss explained even though much of his search history had been deleted, investigators discovered that he very recently viewed a PDF file named “piece of extremist writings”.

A digital gadget seized at his residence included downloads such as documents about mass violence, abuse and dangerous items, a picture of Hitler and a depiction featuring an animal dressed formally accompanied by words: “Just be an independent actor man”.

One document, that was included in a criminal accusation Rudakubana pleaded guilty to, included material from a extremist handbook—although authorities further uncovered “anti-Islamic” items.

Via a different electronic item police found images depicting “very disturbing” images including graphic injuries, slavery, gender-based violence and historical regimes.

‘Lack of radical views’

The inquiry was told his behaviour within the school environment began to “decline quickly” onset of secondary education, when he was 13.

Teachers at the institution in Formby had reported occurrences including hitting students, and stating “that’s why teachers get murdered” when he was given a disciplinary action.

His enrollment was terminated from mainstream education in October 2019 after admitting bringing a blade into the building because he “wanted to kill a bully”.

Later that year, he returned to the institution striking a student with a hockey stick while carrying a knife in his backpack.

This led to him pleading guilty to harmful acts and carrying an offensive weapon.

From 2019 to 2021, he was referred to the official deradicalization unit Prevent on multiple occasions by educators alarmed by statements he uttered, and internet searches including terms like “school shootings” and acts of terror.

But on each occasion a referral was made, including a multi-agency meeting with security services, the cases were dropped by specialists because an absence of “radical beliefs” could be found.

The inquiry added during that time, various teams part of the local authority’s social services department started and ended investigations regarding his situation.

Mr Moss revealed the killer’s father, Mr Rudakubana, requested assistance from welfare professionals and mental health services as his conduct became increasingly difficult to control.

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