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The parents of Southport victim Elsie Dot Stancombe have said Axel Rudakubana's mother and father should be 'held to account' over the tragedy. Elsie, seven, was one of three little girls stabbed to death by Rudakubana when he stormed a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport on July 29 last year. An inquiry was told his mother made a 'zip it' gesture to his father as he was on the verge of telling a support worker about their son's troubling behaviour. Meanwhile, Alphonese, Rudakubana's father, said he knew Axel was hoarding large knives and weapons in the months and weeks before the attack, and that he had potentially foiled an attempt by his son to set fire to his old school, seven days before the murder spree. In a victim impact statement, Jenni and David Stancombe, Elsie's parents, said Rudakubana's mother and father 'should be held to account' over the death of their daughter and the other children. 'They knew his behaviour was escalating. They saw the signs, the obsession, the growing desire to harm, especially in the months, weeks, and days before the attack. And still, they did nothing,' they said. 'We believe they should be held to account for what they allowed to happen. They knew how dangerous he was, yet they stayed silent. They didn't report their concerns, they didn't act, and in doing so, they failed not only as parents but as members of our society.' The Stancombes added that the statements given by the killer's parents during the inquiry 'show no real remorse or acceptance of the devastation their son caused'. They accused the pair of trying to 'distance themselves from the truth'. They primarily blamed Alphonse, adding: 'His father, in particular, has downplayed his inaction and withheld the full truth of what he knew. I have no doubt his latest evidence is yet another attempt to protect himself and his family's reputation rather than face what really happened.' Meanwhile, six-year-old Bebe King's mother and father said evidence from the killer's parents is 'deeply disturbing and shameful'. Lauren and Ben King said: 'As parents, we believe we have a responsibility not just to our own children, but to society - to raise them with love, to nurture kindness, and to help them grow into responsible, compassionate adults. Where was that responsibility from his parents? They were absent. They turned away from their duties.' A report from a home visit in October 2021 was described at the hearing, which detailed how a family support worker had said Axel refused to say why he had not been attending school, and that he would not explain this 'until Alphonse does what I have asked him'. The hearing was told that Axel refused to elaborate further and when Alphonse was asked to respond, Axel had said: 'You don't need to tell them, you don't have my permission.' Nicholas Moss KC, counsel to the probe, said the support worker had noted 'it was clear Alphonse wanted to share this' but that Axel's mother was 'waving her arms and indicating in a zip action across her mouth' to Mr Rudakubana. Asked why she had done this, Laetitia Muzayire said: 'I cannot remember because my memory's not good.' She added the reason she was probably asking for Alphonse to 'keep quiet' was because she feared one of her son's 'outbursts', which the family found 'distressing'. This came just moments after she had told of her 'grief and remorse for the children whose lives were taken or forever changed' by her son. Ms Muzayire, whose 17-year-old son Axel Rudakubana killed three young girls and seriously injured ten others at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class last July, told the hearing that her family has been left broken by what he did. Seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, six-year-old Bebe King and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar were among those murdered during the attack in Southport. Beginning her evidence, Ms Muzayire told the inquiry she was 'profoundly sorry' that she had 'failed' to stop her son's violent rampage. She said she could never undo the pain caused to the victims and their families. Reading from a prepared statement, she said: 'I would like to make a short statement on my family and my own behalf. 'Each of us has come to the inquiry with broken hearts. There are no words that can ever be enough to express our grief and remorse for the children whose lives were taken or forever changed by our son's actions. 'We think of them every single day and we carry the weight of that loss in our hearts and prayers. 'As a mother, I grieve deeply for my own son, but most of all for the innocent lives lost and the lives that have been devastated. 'There are many things that Alphonse and I wish we had done differently, anything that might have prevented the horrific event of July 29 2024. '(For) our failure we are profoundly sorry. We pray every day for the children and their families, and for god's comfort to surround them.' She described the pain of knowing her son had destroyed so many young lives. 'Each of us has come to the inquiry with broken hearts,' she said, adding that she and her husband think of the victims 'every single day.' Mr Rudakubana earlier had told the inquiry his son had been a 'monster' who murdered the victims' 'beautiful angels.' But the parents of the three girls expressed 'complete disdain' for his explanations. Their barrister, Nicholas Bowen KC, told him: 'All three sets of parents have listened to what you've written and what you've said and have complete disdain for your excuses and the manner in which you have answered questions.' However, Sir Adrian Fulford, chairman of the inquiry, criticised the barrister for not raising the comments with him in advance and said they were 'not appropriate.' He said he knew Axel was hoarding large knives and weapons in the months and weeks before the attack, and that he had potentially foiled an attempt by his son to set fire to his old school, seven days before the murder spree. But Mr Rudakubana said he lacked 'courage' and the 'pure love' for his son had stopped him from reporting him to police. Asked earlier if he wanted to say anything to the parents of the girls, Mr Rudakubana insisted he 'cried all the time' for them. 'I'd like to say my deepest sympathy,' he said. 'My condolences for their beautiful angels whose lives were taken away by my son. 'I am so desperately sorry for them and everyone else who's been harmed. 'I cry for them all the time because I have a reminder (of) my son who turned (out) to be a monster.' He added: 'I'm so ashamed I lost the courage to save their little angels, I'm so, so sorry.' Mr Rudakubana agreed with Mr Bowen that he bore a 'significant degree of personal culpability and personal responsibility for the manifest and manifold failures' from October 2019 - when Axel was expelled from mainstream education aged 13 - until the date of the attack. 'I shared the responsibility, there was failure on my part,' he added. 'The moral failure for not having done anything. I could have done far more.' But he said he had a 'visceral bond' with his son and 'pure love' had stopped him from calling police. 'Especially on the 22nd (July),' he said. 'On the 29th things happened so quickly and there was no time, but definitely on the 22nd. 'I take responsibility for all the failures, so much went wrong, which was not his (Axel's) doing.' The inquiry heard that Mr Rudakubana told police that his son was a 'good boy' but now he believed he was 'a different person.' 'I love him so much, he's my son (but) he is no longer a good boy,' he added. 'He's a dangerous individual…but that bond, nobody can break it.' He agreed with Mr Bowen that his failure to dial 999 had been 'immoral and unacceptable,' but asked whether he thought 'any decent person' would have called in police, Mr Rudakubana replied: 'I wouldn't go that far. I think the love I had for him overruled good judgement.' Earlier, Mr Rudakubana told the inquiry he had been hiding knives from his son since 2019, when he was aged just 13. He admitted he knew a package Axel ordered under a fake name, in June 2023, contained a 'large knife' but insisted he was 'too afraid' to open it. Instead, he hid it on top of a wardrobe. Officers discovered a 22-inch survival machete and a sharpening stone inside the package after Axel's arrest. Mr Rudakubana accepted his failure to tell the authorities 'emboldened' his son to order more weapons online. 'I regret not telling police because if I had, what happened on 29th July, wouldn't have happened,' he said. Nicholas Moss, KC, for the inquiry, said: 'What effect do you think that had on AR? 'Do you think he thought, ''I didn't get into trouble with dad, I will just try again.'' Mr Rudakubana replied: 'Looking back, I think it may have emboldened him and encouraged him to order more things that followed.' Axel went on to buy two more machetes before Mr Rudakubana took delivery of the two knives his son ordered from Amazon - one of which he used in the attack - on July 15, just over two weeks before. Mr Moss pointed out that the packaging detailed that it contained a 'bladed item' but Mr Rudakubana insisted he hadn't read it properly because he was 'tired' and working nights as a taxi driver when it was delivered. 'This was a serious breach of your duty as a parent, and the reason why it was a serious breach is you knew he had ordered a large heavy knife previously,' Mr Moss said. 'Yes,' Mr Rudakubana replied. 'I'm sorry I didn't read. I don't have a good (explanation). It's terrible.' Mr Rudakubana admitted he withheld 'some information' from child and adolescent mental health services (CAHMS) about his son's violent behaviour and weapons collection, and accepted there was a 'massive difference' between what he knew and the CAMHS assessment, on July 23. That report said Axel posed 'no risk' and he was signed off their care. But Mr Rudakubana said: 'I believe he posed a risk to me, only me.' He also told the inquiry, in Liverpool, that at the time he thought he was supporting his son's treatment, adding: 'But I fell short, now, looking back.' Mr Rudakubana admitted he knew his son had asked for petrol because he was considering setting fire to his old school, The Range High School, in Formby, and had planned to attack it on the last day of term – on July 22 – a week before the attack. Axel was expelled from the Range High School, in October 2019, for taking a knife into classes. His father only managed to stop the earlier attack by persuading a taxi driver not to take him. But afterwards, the inquiry heard, Axel warned his father: 'Next time, if you stop me there will be consequences.' Mr Moss said: 'He was going to do a serious criminal attack and you had done the right thing and stopped him…but you knew he was thinking about doing it again?' 'Not necessarily,' Mr Rudakubana replied. He admitted being 'relieved' the school was closed for the summer but said he didn't call police because it was 'too overwhelming.' Mr Moss said: 'This needed urgent action and I think you would accept that now?' 'Yes, I am ashamed,' Mr Rudakubana said. 'I accept that responsibility, it was obvious then but it required so much courage.' He said he and his wife hadn't had time to talk about what happened before their son went on his murder spree at the Hart Space, in the seaside town, a week later. And he insisted this was the 'real reason' they didn't call police, not that he was worried his son would be arrested or imprisoned. Mr Rudakubana also described a frightening incident earlier that day when his son had threatened him with a knife in his bedroom after he refused to hand over the 'bigger' machete from the top of the wardrobe. Mr Rudakubana said he felt 'extremely vulnerable' because his son was stabbing the bed to 'scare' him. The inquiry heard he fell onto the floor and pleaded with Axel: 'Please stop, it's not here, it's downstairs,' and managed to distract him to get away. Later, after Mr Rudakubana stopped Axel from taking a taxi to The Range, his son returned inside and 'surprisingly' allowed him to tidy up his bedroom, he said. But he was 'shocked' to discover a 'small arsenal' of weapons in his son's room, including a bow and arrow and the ingredients he later understood could be used to make the toxic poison, ricin. Later, Mr Rudakubana broke down in tears as he described how his 'calculating' son's crimes were 'out of his understanding.' He admitted he did nothing when his reclusive son left the house to carry out the attack, on July 29, and simply 'hoped for the best.' The inquiry has heard that Axel 'tricked' his parents by pretending he was a going out for a walk, but in reality he went out and called a taxi to the dance class. Mr Rudakubana, who gave his evidence via video-link and out of view of the public from a undisclosed location, said: 'I was encouraged, I felt it was a good thing for him to go out and that I would worry later. 'My brain just didn't want to go there, to think about something bad.' He admitted, however, that as soon as he heard about the stabbing he suspected his son could be involved. Choking back tears, Mr Rudakubana said: 'I was just clinging on to the hope that he was going for a walk…the direction he took, the way he fooled us, I couldn't believe how calculating…it's something that's out of our understanding what happened.' He said he had no idea why his son changed his target from the Range to the dance class and insisted that, after Axel's failed attack on July 22, he and his wife thought they had two months over the school holidays to decide what to do. 'The reason I didn't call the police is because there was no consensus yet and we were not ready to make that decision,' he added. 'I knew, of course, if I tell the police they would take him away. It's a crime, the things we were seeing at home they were crimes. 'We honestly thought we had two months. A week came too soon. We never realised he was capable.' Mr Moss asked if the agencies could have done anything differently to have helped him contact police before July 29. But he admitted: 'It was down to our judgment and our judgment was poor and it was influenced by the fact that he was our son, he is ill and everything. 'But had we had any clear instruction, of course, we would have.' The inquiry, at Liverpool Town Hall, continues.
