A 16-year-old boy confessed to terrorism charges after planning an assault inspired by the Southport killer at a Taylor Swift-themed gathering, donning a green hoodie like the original attacker.

Due to his age, the identity of the white teenager remains confidential. He composed poetry celebrating the actions of Axel Rudakubana and explored the coastal town of Merseyside, documenting sites and researching possible targets connected to the American singer on the anniversary of the tragic events of July 2024.

The boy also obtained the terror manual used by Rudakubana to create the lethal toxin ricin.

Authorities apprehended him in August following his own emergency call to police, where he revealed his intentions.

Mirroring the infamous criminal, he amassed a collection of knives and purchased a green hoodie, replicating the attire Rudakubana wore during the mass stabbing incident.

Having left school, he delved into the world of misogynistic incels—a term referring to the online community of men who are involuntarily celibate and harbor resentment towards women—and investigated high school shootings.

He also considered an attack on his old school, just as Rudakubana also planned.

Today the shaven-headed teenager, who was dressed all in black, appeared in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court and pleaded guilty to possession of several terrorist manuals, including a recipe for ricin, the Improvised Munitions Handbook, the Anarchist Cookbook 2000 and the al-Qaeda Training Manual, which were downloaded between January 21 and May 6 last year.

Rudakubana was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum term of 52 years for the murders of Bebe King, six, Elsie Stancombe, seven, and Alice Aguiar, nine, who he stabbed to death at a Taylor Swift-themed dance holiday club.

Rudakubana pictured in the distinctive green hoodie he wore on the day of the attack. CCTV cameras caught him outside the Hart Space dance studio, in Southport, shortly before he launched the mass stabbing

Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, were all murdered in the atrocity on July 29, 2024

The offences carry a maximum sentence of 15 years in jail for an adult, but he will likely receive a much shorter sentence because the prosecution is not alleging he had a ‘terrorist’ motive.

The court heard he had not been charged with preparing terrorist attacks, which carries a potential life sentence, because targeting schoolchildren and misogynistic attacks are not considered ‘ideological’ offences.

The youth, who is now 17, denied a separate offence of making threats to kill to the police 999 operator and Adam Birkby, prosecuting, said the Crown would not be proceeding with that charge.

The barrister said: ‘The evidence suggests that this young man had some ideations towards the type of incident which this city experienced in July 2024 and that is what he referred to when he made the 999 call, but this is not a case where we can point to a specific motivation or ideology.

‘The evidence will show the sequence of this young man’s internet research and what he was interested in and the kind of things he was looking towards.

‘Matters seem to have culminated in the 999 call but we take the view it is not in the public interest, particularly given the circumstances around this young man and his age, to pursue that charge.’

The judge, Neil Flewitt KC, remanded the youth in detention and ordered a pre-sentence report. 

He also asked the prosecution to serve a psychiatric report ahead of the sentencing hearing in March.

Judge Flewitt told the boy it was ‘highly likely you will have to remain in custody for a longer period.’

Rudakubana was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum term of 52 years for the murders of Bebe King, six, Elsie Stancombe, seven, and Alice Aguiar, nine, who he stabbed to death at a Taylor Swift-themed dance holiday club on July 29, 2024. 

A previous hearing was told that, like Rudakubana, the boy is thought to have autism and was under the care of child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). He was also known to social services.

His plans only came to the attention of police when he dialled 999 on August 6 last year from the bathroom of his grandparents’ home, while his mother and baby sister were downstairs.

He told an operator he was ‘captivated’ by the idea of violence and was going to try and copy Rudakubana ‘but there wasn’t any events near me so I’ve postponed it.’

Officers went to the property and found a bag of knives taken from his grandparents’ kitchen.

Examination of the boy’s Samsung mobile phone revealed he had visited Southport, which is 15 miles from his home in Kirkby, and taken photographs of the town, on May 13 last year.

He had also searched for possible targets, focusing on Taylor Swift-themed events, on July 29 – the first anniversary of Rudakubana’s attack.

Police and forensic teams on Hart Street, Southport, following the stabbing

In entries in the encrypted notes section of his phone, police found poetry he’d written ‘in honour of Rudakubana’ which appeared to have been generated by the AI app ChatGPT.

The notes also included references to incels, spurgcels – incels who have Asperger’s Syndrome, also known as autism – and ‘Axelcels.’

There were also notes about a specific  plan to carry out a copycat attack, similar to that perpetrated by Rudakubana, and a secondary plan to use a vehicle to commit an attack or make a bomb.

It is the second case of a teenager seeking to copy the Southport attacks.

In June, a 17-year-old from Cwmbran in South Wales was arrested after talking of emulating Rudakubana and conducting research into obtaining large knives.

Police found a note saved on the youth’s phone headed ‘places to attack’ which included images of a dance school near his home, along with directions on how to walk there. Location data on his phone suggested that he had been close to the school a few days earlier.

He had also researched other potential targets, including his own school, and told others on Snapchat of a plan to attack the first Oasis reunion concert on July 4 in Cardiff.

He has pleaded guilty to a single charge of possession of a document useful for terrorism, for which Rudakubana received an 18-month sentence, and is awaiting sentence.

Rudakubana was 17 when he murdered the three young girls, and seriously injured 10 others, including eight children, two years ago.

He had previously been expelled from school for carrying a knife, and attempted to return to the comprehensive to launch an attack on the last day of term, a week before he attacked the dance class in Southport.