Teen charged in UK dance class stabbings pleads not guilty

LONDON (AP) — A teen charged with killing three girls and wounding 10 other people in a stabbing rampage at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in England this summer had not guilty pleas entered on his behalf Wednesday.

Axel Rudakubana, 18, who has refused to speak in court was read the charges of three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and additional charges related to possessing the poison ricin and for having an al-Qaida manual.

The not guilty pleas were entered by the court as he remained silent. His plea was made in a video appearance in Liverpool Crown Court from a prison in London where he is being held.

Rudakubana was charged in August with murdering three girls — Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Bebe King, 6 — and stabbing 10 other people on July 29 in the seaside town of Southport in northern England.

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