Vile Axel Rudakabana stabbed kids in back as they tried to flee in 12 minutes of horror

As horrified children ran from the studio in Southport, Axel Rudakubana chased after them, stabbing them in their backs. Yesterday, he pleaded guilty to the murders of three girls

Southport killer Axel Rudakubana unleashed 12 minutes of terror when he broke into a Taylor Swift dance class during the school holidays last year and launched a frenzied knife attack.

Twenty-six excited children, all girls and all aged between six and 11, had earlier been dropped off by their parents at 10am for the start of the two-hour event, organised by instructors Leanne Lucas and Heidi Liddle at The Hart Space in Hart Street. They were gathered around tables in the studio making bracelets, next to a life-size model of Taylor Swift the youngsters could take photo with.

But suddenly, the door opened and Rudakubana entered, armed with a kitchen knife. Terrified children began screaming as the killer, without saying a word, grabbed the child nearest to him and started stabbing her.

He then moved through the room, systematically stabbing as many children as he could before they could escape him. A child was seen on CCTV trying to escape the building, before being pulled back in. She was later seen stumbling from the building and collapsing.

As the horrified children ran from the studio, Rudakubana chased after them, stabbing them in their backs. He also knifed Ms Lucas and businessman Jonathan Hayes, who was working in the office next door and bravely tried to stop the carnage.

Witnesses described young girls running from the studio into the street, bleeding from multiple stab wounds. Outside, a mother was sitting in her car waiting to collect her daughter, when she heard the screaming and saw people running from the building.

She managed to grab her daughter and get into her vehicle, along with three other children. One of them, nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar, had a bleeding injury to the chest. She collapsed inside of the vehicle from the injury and died in hospital the next day. The other girls who tragically died after the July 29 stabbing were six-year-old Bebe King and seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe.

Yesterday, Rudakubana pleaded guilty to murdering the three girls. The 18-year-old changed his plea on day one of a trial at Liverpool Crown Court where he was charged with the murders of Alice, Bebe and Elsie. Rudakubana – who it can now be reported had been reported to the government's Prevent counter extremism scheme at least three times – also pleaded to eight counts of attempted murder in relation to eight other children, who cannot be named.

He has also pleaded guilty to the attempted murders of Leanne and Jonathan and admitted the possession of a bladed article in a public place, namely a kitchen knife with a curved blade. Rudakubana, who entered the dock wearing a grey prison issue jumper and wearing a blue medical face mask, also pleaded guilty to production of a biological toxin, namely ricin, and possession of information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, namely a PDF file entitled "Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants: The Al-Qaeda Training Manual."