Southport Killer Believed to Have Watched Teen Knife Footage Shortly Before Incident
An attorney described it as “sobering and concerning” that the individual responsible likely watched social media material showing a knife attack in Australia by a young male only 40 minutes prior to carrying out his personal violent acts.
Investigation into Deadly Incident
An official inquiry is now being conducted into the events leading up to the attack by Axel Rudakubana, who was a teenager at the time, on 29 July 2024. In the attack, he murdered three children and attempted to murder eight children and two adults.
During proceedings, a representative outlined the focus of the inquiry, which will explore the sequence of events and contacts Rudakubana had with multiple state systems, including criminal justice, education, social care, and healthcare.
Targeted Nature of the Attack
The inquiry heard that the incident was “extremely cowardly” and specifically targeted female victims. Apart from one man injured during the event, every one of the remaining victims were girls or women.
Moss described the attacker as a “heavy consumer of online content” and mentioned that the teenager had erased his browsing history before the incident. However, evidence showed he had used a separate tablet to look up videos of a stabbing by a young person in another country.
Online Companies Under Scrutiny
Investigators has asked for details from tech firms Meta and formerly Twitter regarding the attacker’s usage on their services. It was revealed that the individual had likely watched violent content on the platform just before the attack.
“One could possibly consider it sobering and concerning that almost the last thing AR did before carrying out these terrible crimes was to look up and possibly view content on Twitter in relation to a knife attack.”
Dangerous Items and Online Purchases
The inquiry will also examine how Rudakubana acquired items such as knives, crossbows, and machetes by posing as an older person and using a fake identity. In addition, he ordered plant materials through Amazon to create a “crude preparation of a toxic substance”.
Officials have requested detailed statements from the attacker’s family members to establish their knowledge of his internet purchases and the objects he kept in his room and living room.
Continuing Inquiry
One key focus of the proceedings is to determine which agencies or entities should have taken action to step in given the risks Rudakubana had demonstrated before the tragedy.
The head of the inquiry promised to do everything “humanly possible” to answer the concerns of bereaved families and survivors. The inquiry continues in the coming days.
