Teenager pleads guilty to fatal stabbing during Taylor Swift-themed dance class in England

LONDON (AP) — A British teenager pleaded guilty Monday to murdering three girls and attempting to kill 10 others in a stabbing rampage during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in England last summer.

Axel Rudakubana18, entered a surprise plea at the start of his trial at Liverpool Crown Court.

He pleaded guilty to three counts of murder, ten counts of attempted murder, and additional charges related to possession of ricin, a poison, and possession of an Al-Qaeda manual.

The stabbing attacks of July 29 gave rise to a week of widespread riots in parts of England and Northern Ireland after the suspect was falsely identified as an asylum seeker who recently arrived in Britain by boat. He was born in Wales.

Judge Julian Goose told Rudakubana he faced life in prison when he is sentenced on Thursday.

Defense attorney Stanley Reiz said he would present the judge with information about Rudakubana’s mental health that could be relevant to his sentence.

Rudakubana had systematically refused to speak in court and did it again when asked to identify himself at the start of the proceedings. But he broke his silence after reading the 16 charges and declared himself “guilty” each time.

None of the surviving victims or family members of those killed were present in court during the guilty plea, the judge noted. They were expected for opening statements scheduled for Tuesday.

Goose asked the prosecutor to apologize on his behalf for not being present to hear Rudakubana plead guilty.

Prosecutors have not said what they believe led Rudakubana — who was days shy of his 18th birthday — to commit the atrocities.

He pleaded guilty to the murders of 9-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 7-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and 6-year-old Bebe King.

Eight other girls, aged between 7 and 13, were injured, along with instructor Leanne Lucas and Jonathan Hayes, who worked at a nearby business and intervened. Fifteen other girls, barely 5 years old, were present in class but unharmed. Under a court order, none of the surviving daughters can be named.

Several months after his arrest on the day of the murders, Rudakubana was charged with additional charges for production of a biological toxin, ricin and possession of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism for having the manual in a document on his computer.

Police said the stabbings were not considered acts of terrorism because the motive was not known.

The attack sent shockwaves across the UK and inspired violence by groups of mainly men mobilized by far-right activists on social media to attack mosques and hotels housing migrants. They threw beer bottles, rocks and other weapons at police and set cars on fire during clashes with officers in dozens of cities.

More than 1,200 people have been arrested over the unrest and hundreds have been sentenced to up to nine years in prison.