‘The Amazon Killer’, screams the Sun front page today. ‘Total disgrace he was able to buy knife on Amazon,’ says the Daily Mirror. The backlash to the news that Southport murderer Axel Rudakubana brought his weapon online has been swift. But blaming Amazon for what happened on that horrific day last summer is missing the point.
Rudakubana admitted to carrying a knife ten times
Rudakubana, who was 17 when he attacked a group of children at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in July, was a troubled individual who had a history of carrying knives. His guilty plea this week has meant that details of his case – and the shocking failure of the state to stop him – have emerged. The catalogue of errors means that it is a mistake to focus on Amazon if we are to learn anything from this horrific attack and avoid a repeat.
In 2019, aged 13, Rudakubana brought a knife to school and was expelled.
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