The criminal investigation into the 2024 Southport attack of July 29th has officially ended today.
Merseyside Police confirmed that despite the conviction of murderer Axel Rudakubana in January, the investigation remained ‘active’ as detectives probed the possibility of bringing charges against “those who failed to prevent his crimes”
Police say they looked into multiple lines of inquiry during their investigation but ultimately it has been concluded Rudakubana acted alone and there is no case for anyone else to answer.
He is currently serving a minimum of 52 years for the murder of Alice Aguiar, Bebe King and Elsie Stancombe, the attempted murder of 10 others (eight children and two adults) and for possession of a knife in a public place, production of a biological toxin namely ricin contrary to Section 1 of the Biological Weapons Act 1974 and possession of information, namely a PdF file entitled ‘Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants: The Al-Qaeda Training Manual, of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing, or preparing, an act of terrorism, contrary to Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
A spokesperson for Merseyside Police said: “During the course of the criminal investigation into the Southport murders, a number of lines of enquiry were pursued.
“Some of the aspect of the investigation allowed for consideration of charges against those who may have assisted Axel Rudakubana or failed to prevent his crimes.
“Post-trial, the force conducted a comprehensive review of all of the material available and considered it in the light of the case law and statutory offences that may have been applicable.
“As a result of that comprehensive review it has been determined that no further charges will be brought at this stage.”