Boy attacked by Axel Rudakubana with hockey stick 'targeted by thugs' blaming him for Southport attack

23 January 2025, 09:10

A boy who was attacked by Axel Rudakubana with a hockey stick has been targeted by "local thugs" who are blaming him for sparking the Southport stabbings.

18-year-old Rudakubana, who was 17 at the time of the Southport attack, was excluded from Range High School in Formby in October 2019 for bringing a knife to school.

He claimed the knife was a bid to defend himself after telling Childline he was being racially bullied.

Following his exclusion, the teenager was seen to return to the school in December, where he assaulted the pupil with a hockey stick.

During the incident, Rudakubana was reportedly disarmed after being tackled by a teacher.

Now, the innocent boy who was attacked - and had likely "never spoken" to Axel in his life - is reportedly being "targeted" by local thugs blaming him for sparking the murders.

Rudakubana pled guilty on Monday to three counts of murder in relation to the Southport attack on a Taylor Swift dance class in July 2024, which left three young girls dead and sparked widespread riots across the UK.

Merseyside Police confirmed have confirmed they are looking into the reports.

Rudakubana later left mainstream education after being expelled.

A source told The Times that the student who was assaulted by Rudakubana “had probably never spoken to Axel before in his school life”, adding he was “certainly not” on the then 13-year-old’s so-called “kill list”.

Read more: 'I looked him in the eye and said what have you done?': Horror aftermath of Southport rampage revealed

Read more: Southport killer Axel Rudakubana should 'rot in jail', says victim's parent ahead of sentencing

School sources said there was no “tangible” evidence that any serious bullying of Rudakubana ever took place.

They added that he did however have an “axe to grind” with another pupil.

Since the attack, it's been claimed "thugs" have begun turning up at the victim's Merseyside address, threatening the family and blaming their son for causing the Southport attacker to go “off the rails”.

“Members of the public have got the complete wrong end of the stick. They are wanting answers off a completely innocent family,” the source said.

“This boy was just walking out of a classroom when he took a hockey stick to the face. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“Now the family is petrified and it’s another result of misinformation. They are in absolute bits. Ultimately no matter what happened no one is responsible for these murders other than Axel Rudakubana.”

Rudakubana had reportedly “fully engaged with” and completed a youth justice referral order in 2021 following the school assault.

Rudakubana, of Banks, Lancashire, is set to be sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday after being charged with 16 offences.

Those include three counts of murder, for which he changed his plea to guilty in an eleventh hour change of heart.