Killer’s family and authorities could have prevented deadly attack, inquiry finds — BBC News

[0:00] the first phase of the southport inquiry has found the attack was foreseeable and avoidable [0:07] alistair silva agir elsie dot stancom and bb king were murdered at a dance class in july [0:13] 2024 10 other people were injured 17 year old axel rudocobana has been sentenced to at least [0:20] 52 years in prison for months a public inquiry has been examining the events leading up to the attack [0:27] the inquiry chair sir adrian fulford said it could have been and should have been prevented our [0:34] reporter eunice muller is outside liverpool town hall and eunice what more can you tell us about [0:39] today's findings and the reaction there that comment from the chair obviously really harrowing [0:45] for the the families of the three little girls the chair sir adrian fulford said the southport attack [0:54] was of unparalleled cruelty he said the attack was carried out by a teenager who was fixated [1:00] on extreme violence this wasn't uh like a lightning uh he described as like a bolt of lightning out [1:07] of the clear blue sky he said this was violence repeatedly and unambiguously signposted and there [1:13] were five main systemic failures one the lack of ownership from agencies who failed to take [1:20] responsibility for him agencies who dealt with uh the teenager before he carried out the attack [1:26] there was also critical fact they didn't share information between different agencies he also [1:31] said there was a misunderstanding of the teenagers autism and also a lack of oversight over his online [1:38] activity and he also spoke of parental failures now he said the striking conclusions was the sheer number [1:45] of missed opportunities to intervene before the attack happened and he said had they done so it was highly [1:53] likely the attack would not have occurred he said that history simply would have taken a different [1:59] course three little girls murdered by a teenager who lived in the same community how did it ever come [2:08] to this that's what the southport inquiry has investigated the girls families gave their thoughts [2:15] to it alexandra and sergio the parents of alice de silva aguir said our little family unit is no more her [2:23] future has been ripped away bb king's parents lauren and ben said their daughter's life was stolen [2:31] because systems failed her and while nothing said in this inquiry will ever bring her back [2:36] it can and must ensure that her death is not in vain jenny and david stancom are the parents of elsie [2:45] jenny said i stand here today asking this inquiry to ensure that what happened to our little girl [2:51] is a genuine line in the sand today sir adrian fulford chair of the inquiry outlined his findings i have no [3:01] doubt that if appropriate procedures had been in place and if sensible steps had been taken by the [3:09] agencies and ar's parents this dreadful event would not have happened it could have been and it should [3:22] have been prevented this is the home where the killer gathered his armory his father once stopped him [3:28] leaving in a taxi to go to his old school because he thought he was carrying a knife [3:33] alphonse rudicabana told the inquiry he had withheld details of how bad things really were in the [3:39] home because he didn't want his son to be taken away he also failed to tell any agencies including [3:46] mental health teams and the police his son had been buying weapons including a machete online [3:53] rudicabana was sent to a special school for pupils excluded from mainstream education the head teacher [4:00] described him as sinister you say that you actually had a visceral sense of dread yeah i felt like he [4:07] was building up to something and i was aware of the ins that he'd taken knives into school and i was [4:13] worried that he was going to bring something to our school and do something similar at our school the [4:18] teenager seen here in a taxi on the day of the attack had been referred to the government's anti-terror [4:24] program prevent three times but the inquiry heard he did not meet the threshold for further [4:30] intervention pc david fairclough from lancashire police was unaware of the referrals when he dealt [4:36] with him long before the attack did you have any knowledge of the fact that ar had been referred to [4:43] prevent that hadn't been inverted commas taken on by prevent no rudicabana's attack came after years [4:52] of on and off contact with mental health services he was officially discharged from alder hay children's [4:57] hospital six days before the murders with a note stating his risk to others was minimal the conclusions [5:05] and recommendations of the inquiry have now been made public another phase is yet to take place [5:12] danny savage bbc news liverpool we've had some reaction from the agencies that have been criticized [5:22] in sir adrian fortford's report today including lancashire police who said the force accepted there [5:28] was an opportunity to arrest the teenager in 2022 we've also had an apology from lancashire county council [5:37] and social services over the role they played and the systemic failings that they were part of now [5:44] there are around 67 recommendations made by sir adrian fortford in his 700 page report one of those [5:51] recommendations relates to what phase two of this inquiry should look at the activity online of [6:00] children who pose a risk and the potential restrictions that would be could be posed on children that phase [6:07] two which will begin now that phase one has been completed will look at the wider issue of children [6:13] children who are influenced by extreme violence and the impact that has on public safety