Horror inside summer holiday dance class
Axel Rudakubana armed himself with a large kitchen knife before heading to the Taylor Swift themed even for children.
As dozens of smiling children happily sang and played at a Taylor Swift dance class on a beautiful summer’s morning last year, three miles away Axel Rudakubana was arming himself with a kitchen knife with a 20cm blade.
Twenty-six excited children, all girls and all aged between six and 11, had earlier been dropped off by loving parents at 10am for the start of the two-hour event, organised by instructors Leanne Lucas and Heidi Liddle at The Hart Space in Hart Street, Southport.
Rudakubana, despite the sunshine, wearing a green hooded sweatshirt with the hood up and a surgical mask took a cab to Hart Street, arriving just before 11.45am.
Before leaving home he had searched online for “Mar Mari Emmanuel stabbing”, – the knife attack on a bishop in Sydney, Australia, earlier that year.
He travelled in silence and when he arrived left the vehicle without paying, prompting the driver to follow him demanding payment, which he ignored.
A worker at a body shop saw what was going on, telling Rudakubana to pay the taxi driver, but he replied: “What are you going to do about it?”
Inside the play event, because of the summer heat, Leanne Lucas opened a window, and as she did so, saw Rudakubana outside, but thought nothing of it.
Children were gathered around tables in the studio making bracelets, a life-size model of Taylor Swift standing nearby for the youngsters to have their photos taken alongside.
Then the door opened.
Rudakubana enterered, armed with the black-handled Cerbera kitchen knife.
Seconds later children’s screams rang out.
Without saying a word, he had grabbed the child nearest to him and began stabbing the youngster.
He then moved through the room, systematically stabbing as many children as he could before they could escape him.
A child is seen on CCTV trying to escape the building, before being pulled back in.
She is later seen stumbling from the building and collapsing.
As the horrified children run from the studio, Rudakubana chased after them, stabbing them in their backs.
He also knifed Leanne Lucas and businessman Jonathan Hayes, who was working in the office next door and bravely tried to stop the carnage.
Witnesses described young girls running from the studio into the street, bleeding from multiple stab wounds.
Outside, a mother was sitting in her car waiting to collect her daughter, when she heard the screaming and saw people running from the building.
She managed to grab her daughter and get into her vehicle, along with three other children.
One of them had a bleeding injury to the chest, Alice da Silva Aguiar.
She collapsed inside of the vehicle from the injury and died in hospital the next day.
She was aged nine.
Police Sergeant Gillespie was the first officer on scene, arriving at 11.57am to find Rudakubana, holding the large, bloodied kitchen knife, which he dropped when ordered to do so.
A member of the public, Joel Verite, followed police into the building, picking up Bebe King and carrying her out. She was aged six.
In the studio itself, Sgt Gillespie found the body of Elsie Dot Stancombe, lying on her back on the floor, covered in blood, suffering severe injuries. It was obvious she had died. She was aged seven.
Soon afterwards Heidi Liddle and a little girl she protected were found hiding in a toilet.
Crying with fear and relief, they are escorted from the building.
At 11.59am the defendant was arrested, initially on suspicion of attempted murder and soon afterwards, at 12.02pm on suspicion of murder.
Rudakubana had stabbed two adults and 11 children, Elsie Dot, Bebe and Alice all suffering fatal injuries.
