A teenage boy has been sentenced for seeking to emulate the Southport attack.
The now 17-year-old from Kirkby, who cannot be named due to his age, was arrested and charged in November last year after his plans had come to light.
Liverpool Crown Court heard that he had called 999 in August, just 13 months after Axel Rudakubana killed three schoolgirls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop.
He allegedly told the call handler that he wanted to ‘re-enact Axel’ in reference to the senseless murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, Bebe King, and Elsie Dot Stancombe.
Documents found on his phone during investigation included an Al Qaeda training manual which was also possessed by Rudakubana prior to his fatal stabbings.
A note also described Rudakubana, who is serving a life term, as a ‘hero’ and added ‘I love him. He’s the one person I look up to. I felt like he was speaking to me’.
While in custody in December, he was recorded saying he would ‘go into a primary school’ as soon as he was released and target ‘little girls’ as his first victims.
The boy pleaded guilty to four counts of possessing information likely to be useful to a person planning or committing an act of terrorism.
He avoided a prison sentence but was issued with a youth rehabilitation order which will last for three years alongside a criminal behaviour order of the same length.