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A legal representative stated it as “disturbing and alarming” that the individual responsible likely watched online content depicting a knife attack in Australia by a young male only 40 minutes prior to committing his own violent acts.

Investigation into Deadly Incident

An official inquiry is now being conducted into the circumstances preceding the attack by Axel Rudakubana, who was 17 years old at the time, on the date of the incident. In the attack, he killed three young girls and attempted to murder multiple minors and several older individuals.

During proceedings, a representative detailed the focus of the inquiry, which will examine the sequence of events and contacts the attacker had with various state systems, including law enforcement, education, social care, and medical providers.

Deliberate Nature of the Assault

Officials noted that the incident was “extremely cowardly” and specifically targeted female victims. With the exception of one man injured during the attack, every one of the other victims were female.

Moss described Rudakubana as a “prolific internet user” and mentioned that the teenager had deleted his online activity before the incident. However, data showed he had used another device to search for videos of a knife attack by a young person in another country.

Social Media Companies Being Questioned

Investigators has requested information from tech companies Facebook/Instagram’s parent and formerly Twitter regarding Rudakubana’s activity on their services. It was revealed that the individual had likely watched graphic content on the platform shortly before the incident.

“It might perhaps consider it sobering and concerning that almost the last thing the attacker did before carrying out these terrible crimes was to look up and possibly view content on Twitter in relation to a knife attack.”

Weapons and Online Orders

The inquiry will also look into how the attacker purchased items such as knives, projectile weapons, and machetes by posing as an older person and using a false name. Additionally, he ordered seeds through an online retailer to make a “crude preparation of a toxic substance”.

Authorities have asked for detailed statements from Rudakubana’s family members to determine their awareness of his internet purchases and the items he kept in his room and living room.

Continuing Investigation

A central theme of the inquiry is to determine which organizations or entities were responsible for action to intervene given the risks Rudakubana had demonstrated before the tragedy.

The chair of the inquiry promised to do everything “within their power” to answer the questions of bereaved families and victims. Proceedings continues in the near future.