Southport killer’s dad stops him from setting off on ‘high school massacre’

This is the moment Southport mass murderer Axel Rudakubana’s dad begged a taxi driver not to take his son to his old school where he is suspected of planning a similar massacre a week earlier.

Newly released footage shows his father Alphonse speaking to the taxi driver through an open window before Rudakubana storms out of the car, slamming the door behind him.

He is wearing the same green hooded sweatshirt and surgical mask that he wore on the day he murdered Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven.

The 18-year-old had booked a taxi to go to Range High School in Formby on July 22, a few days after he purchased Apollo Cerbera knives, using the name ‘Simon’, the same name used to order a cab to Hart Street a week later.

Ten minutes after his taxi was booked, at 12.30pm, pupils were due to leave the school premises on their last day of term.

Rudakubana, 18, was excluded from the secondary school over claims he was carrying a knife and later returned to attack someone with a hockey stick.

Screen grab from handout doorbell video issued by Merseyside Police of the incident a week before the killings (Picture: Merseyside Police/PA)

(left to right) Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, who died after a mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class (Picture: Merseyside Police/PA)

When it arrived outside his house, he got into the rear seat, wearing a green hooded top with the hood up and a surgical mask. He had a rucksack with him.

Prosecutor Deanna Heer KC told Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday: ‘As the car was about to set off, the defendant’s father ran out of the house and pleaded with the driver not to take him.

‘There was an argument, but eventually the defendant got out of the car and returned to the house.

‘It is unlikely to be a coincidence that this was the last day of term, with students due to leave the school premises at 12.30pm for the summer.

‘The court may infer that this was an earlier attempt to commit offences similar to those he was to carry out at The Hart Space a week later.’

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