The teenage prisoner boiled water in his in-cell kettle and mixed it with sugar before throwing it at the officer – in an attack believed to be inspired by Axel Rudakubana
A teenage prisoner hurled scalding water at a guard in an attack believed to be inspired by Southport killer Axel Rudakubana.
The detainee boiled water in his in-cell kettle and mixed it with sugar before throwing it at the officer while breakfast was being delivered. Triple child killer Rudakubana, 18, previously threw kettle-boiled water at a guard at London’s high-security HMP Belmarsh in May.
The latest incident occurred Saturday at Wetherby Young Offender Institution in West Yorkshire. The guard was treated in hospital, and a colleague sustained minor injuries.
A source told the Sun: “Why on earth did this high-risk prisoner have a kettle in his cell? They may as well have given him a gun or a knife. Everyone believes it was a copycat of what Rudakubana did as the method is the same and, in a warped way, would have been inspired by him. Tests have shown the water was mixed with sugar – so the evil little scrote was trying to cause maximum damage.”
Counter Terrorism Policing North East said it was investigating the incident.
Rudakubana, who stabbed three little girls to death in Southport last year, attacked a prison officer just weeks prior on May 8. The 18-year-old threw scalding water over them at HMP Belmarsh in south-east London, where he is serving a minimum of 52 years.
Officers working at the unit are said to have been alerted to the guard’s screams, where they found their injured colleague and restrained Rudakubana. The guard was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital as a precautionary measure after the attack and was released that evening.
A Prison Service spokesperson told The Mirror at the time: “Police are investigating an attack on a prison officer at HMP Belmarsh yesterday. Violence in prison will not be tolerated and we will always push for the strongest possible punishment for attacks on our hardworking staff.”
In April, Manchester Arena bomb plotter Hasehem Abedi, 28, injured four guards at HMP Frankland in Durham. Abedi used homemade weapons and hot oil to attack the officers on April 12. The attack has led to calls for prison officers to have stab vests. Abedi was moved to Belmarsh, but it is understood he has not come into contact with Rudakubana.