A teenager who stabbed three young girls A Taylor Swift-themed dance class in England was sentenced Thursday to more than 50 years in prison for what a judge called “the most extreme, shocking and exceptionally serious crime.”

Judge Julian Goose said 18-year-old Axel Rudakubana “wanted to try and carry out the mass murder of innocent, happy young girls”.

Saag said he could not impose a life sentence without parole because Rudakubana was under 18 when he committed the crime.

But the judge said he must serve 52 years, minus six months in custody, before being considered for parole and “it is likely he will never be released”.

Rudakubana was 17 years old when he attacked children in the seaside town of Southport in July, killing Alice Da Silva Aguiar, 7, and Baby King, 6. He wounded eight other girls, ages 7 to 13, along with teacher Leanne Lucas and a local businessman Hayes.

The attack shocked the country and initiated both street violence and soul-searching The government has announced a public inquiry into how the system failed to stop a killer who repeatedly turned himself in to authorities because of his obsession with violence.

Rudakubana faces three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and additional charges of possession of a knife, poison ricin and possession of an al-Qaeda handbook.On Monday, he suddenly changed his plea to all charges.

But he was not in court to hear Thursday's sentencing.

Hours earlier, he had been taken to the docks at Liverpool Crown Court in northwest England in a gray prison jumpsuit, but as prosecutors began to show evidence, Rudakubana interrupted, shouting that he felt unwell and wanted to see a paramedic.

Sag ordered the accused to be removed when he continued to scream. A man in the courtroom shouted “Coward”. because Rudakubana was taken out.

The hearing continued without him.

Prosecutor Deanna Heer described how the attack took place on the first day of the summer holiday when 26 little girls were “gathered around tables making bracelets and singing Taylor Swift songs”.

Rudakubana, armed with a large knife, stormed in and began stabbing the girls and their teacher.

The court was shown video footage of the suspect arriving at Hart Space by taxi and entering the building. Within seconds, screams erupted and the children ran outside, some of them injured, but the attacker pulled her back in. She was stabbed 32 times but survived.

Gasping and sobbing could be heard in court as the videos were broadcast.

Heyer said two of the dead children “suffered particularly horrific injuries that are difficult to explain away as anything other than sadistic in nature.” One of the dead girls had 122 injuries, the other 85.

The prosecutor said that Rudakubana “had a long-standing obsession with violence, murder, genocide.”

“His sole purpose was to kill. And he targeted the youngest and most vulnerable sections of society,” he said as victims' relatives watched in the courtroom.

Heer said that when he was taken to the police station, Rudakubana said: “It's a good thing those kids are dead, I'm so glad, I'm so glad.”

The killings came days before anti-immigrant violence across the country after far-right activists were misinformed that the attacker was an asylum seeker who had recently arrived in the UK. the government was hiding the information.

Rudakubana was born in Cardiff, Wales to Christian parents from Rwanda and investigators have been unable to establish his motive. Police found documents on his devices relating to Nazi Germany, the Rwandan genocide and car bombs.

He had been reported to numerous authorities for his violent interests and activities in the years leading up to the attack, and all agencies failed to recognize his danger.

In 2019, he called a child advice line to ask “What should I do if I want to kill someone?” He said he took a knife to school because he wanted to kill someone who was bullying him a month later, he attacked a fellow student with a hockey stick and was convicted of assault.

Prosecutors say Rudakubana was referred to the government's counter-extremism program Prevent three times when he was 13 and 14, once in a classroom after studying school shootings, then for uploading pictures of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to Instagram and researching the London terror attacks. .

But they concluded that his crimes should not be classified as terrorism because Rudakubana had no discernible political or religious motive. Hair said that “his intention was to carry out mass killings, not for a specific purpose, but as an end in itself.”

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said this week that the country must face a “new threat” from violent individuals whose mix of motivations tests the traditional definition of terrorism.

“After one of the most horrific moments in our country's history, we owe it to these innocent young women and all those affected to make the change they deserve,” Starmer said after the verdict.

Several relatives and survivors read emotional statements in court describing how the attack had shattered their lives.

Lucas, 36, who taught the dance class, said “the trauma of being both a victim and a witness has been terrible.”

“I can't give myself sympathy or accept praise, because how can I live knowing that I survived when the children died?” she said.

One of the 14-year-old survivors, whose name has not been disclosed due to a court order, said that while recovering physically. “We will all have to live forever with the mental pain of that day.”

“I hope you spend the rest of your life knowing that we think you're a coward,” he said.

The prosecutor read a statement from Alice Da Silva Aguiar's parents, who said their daughter's murder had “broken our souls”.

“We used to cook for three, now we only cook for two, it doesn't seem right,” they said. “Alice was the purpose of our living, so what should we do now?”