UK report lays bare 'catastrophic' missed chances before stabbings at girls' dance class

A mass killing by a British teenager who fatally stabbed three little girls and seriously injured 10 other people at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in 2024 “could and should have been prevented” if his parents and state agencies had acted as his well-known fixation on violence escalated, according to a report released Monday. Adrian Fulford, a retired judge who led a nine-week inquiry, issued a 763-page report that cataloged the many times parents or authorities could have intervened in Axel Rudakubana's life to ultimately prevent him from carrying out killings that he said were unprecedented in the U.K. for their “extreme and very particular depravity.” “One of the most striking conclusions from this inquiry’s extensive investigation is the sheer number of missed opportunities over many years to intervene meaningfully, which directly contributed to the failure to avert this disaster,” Fulford said.