The brother of Southport killer Axel Rudakubana told a public inquiry Tuesday that he feared for his family’s safety long before the 17-year-old murdered three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class last year.
Dion Rudakubana, 21, said his younger brother’s behavior had become increasingly violent after being expelled from school at 13 for bringing knives into lessons. “From 2022, when he was 15, I started to fear he might kill someone in the household,” Dion said, according to the Daily Mail. “He would smash plates and confront my dad. The police were called a few times.”
He described Axel as socially withdrawn, paranoid, and unable to empathize with others. “His ability to understand people just diminished,” he told the panel. “He reminded me of that character from No Country for Old Men — a sociopath, the one who kills ten people. That’s why it concerned me. I felt the threat was within the home.”
Dion said he stopped speaking to his brother in the summer of 2023 after Axel threw a metal bottle at him. “I managed to close the door before it hit me,” he said. “I could’ve been seriously hurt.” He added that he had been warned by his parents to be careful and no longer entered Axel’s room because of his “violent responses.”
The older brother said he was never questioned about Axel’s behavior by police, social workers, or mental health staff, despite the family being known to authorities. “I didn’t think to tell anyone because the problem grew gradually,” he said. “If someone had asked, I would’ve said I feared some disputes could escalate.”
The inquiry also heard from Deanna Romina Khananisho, head of global affairs at X, who defended the platform’s decision not to remove a video of an Australian bishop being stabbed, footage Axel reportedly watched just six minutes before the Southport killings. Khananisho said the video showed “hope, faith, and forgiveness” and that taking it down would be “tyrannical overreach.”
Rudakubana killed Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7; Bebe King, 6; and Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9 during the July 2024 attack in Southport. He was sentenced to life in prison in January with a minimum term of 52 years. His parents are expected to testify next as the inquiry continues this week at Liverpool Town Hall.
Dion Rudakubana, 21, said his younger brother’s behavior had become increasingly violent after being expelled from school at 13 for bringing knives into lessons. “From 2022, when he was 15, I started to fear he might kill someone in the household,” Dion said, according to the Daily Mail. “He would smash plates and confront my dad. The police were called a few times.”
He described Axel as socially withdrawn, paranoid, and unable to empathize with others. “His ability to understand people just diminished,” he told the panel. “He reminded me of that character from No Country for Old Men — a sociopath, the one who kills ten people. That’s why it concerned me. I felt the threat was within the home.”
Dion said he stopped speaking to his brother in the summer of 2023 after Axel threw a metal bottle at him. “I managed to close the door before it hit me,” he said. “I could’ve been seriously hurt.” He added that he had been warned by his parents to be careful and no longer entered Axel’s room because of his “violent responses.”
The older brother said he was never questioned about Axel’s behavior by police, social workers, or mental health staff, despite the family being known to authorities. “I didn’t think to tell anyone because the problem grew gradually,” he said. “If someone had asked, I would’ve said I feared some disputes could escalate.”
The inquiry also heard from Deanna Romina Khananisho, head of global affairs at X, who defended the platform’s decision not to remove a video of an Australian bishop being stabbed, footage Axel reportedly watched just six minutes before the Southport killings. Khananisho said the video showed “hope, faith, and forgiveness” and that taking it down would be “tyrannical overreach.”
Rudakubana killed Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7; Bebe King, 6; and Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9 during the July 2024 attack in Southport. He was sentenced to life in prison in January with a minimum term of 52 years. His parents are expected to testify next as the inquiry continues this week at Liverpool Town Hall.
