Southport attack heroes who shielded terrified schoolgirls from murderer's wrath
Axel Rudakubana stabbed three little girls to death as he broke into a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport last July. Locals reacted quickly to the terror, desperately trying to save the children
A small dance studio in Southport became a scene of tragedy last summer after an 18-year-old knifeman targeted a bunch of children, leaving three dead.
Axel Rudakubana, of Banks, Lancashire, stormed the Taylor Swift-themed dance class at The Hart Space shortly before midday on July 29, killing Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine; Bebe King, six; and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven. Rudakubana changed his plea to guilty on day one of a trial at Liverpool Crown Court where he was charged with the murders.
Rudakubana ā who had been reported to the government's Prevent counter-extremism scheme at least three times before the stabbings, it can now be revealed ā also pleaded to eight counts of attempted murder in relation to eight other children, who cannot be named. He has also pleaded guilty to the attempted murders of Leanne Lucas and Jonathan Hayes and admitted the possession of a bladed article in a public place, namely a kitchen knife with a curved blade.
Ms Lucas and Mr Hayes were just two of the heroes from the community who stepped up in the face of evil. Shortly after the 'ferocious attack', Merseyside Police revealed that the two adults had been critically injured after trying to save the youngsters, while nearby locals rushed to help.
Rudakubana was just 13 when he was first sent to Prevent, the government's anti-terror programme, with two other referrals made in 2021. After one of the referrals, it was recommended that he be referred to other services, however it is not known if this happened.
The Guardian reports that Rudakubana was first referred to Prevent over concerns he was looking at material about school massacres in the US, and a fascination with violence. He has referred again after viewing material on Libya and past terrorist attacks, including those in London in 2017.
He was judged three times not to pose a terrorism risk, and was thus outside the scope of the scheme. As Rudakubana is due to be sentenced on Thursday, where a life sentence is 'inevitable', the Mirror takes a look at those who stood up to his lethal rampage.
Stabbed businessman Jonathan Hayes was injured while trying to tackle the knifeman (Image:
FACEBOOK)After hearing screams from his office, brave businessman Jonathan Hayes ran into the studio and attempted to disarm the knifeman, sustaining a stab wound to the leg in the process. In an interview with The Telegraph, Jonathan's wife Helen, 57, shared how the 63-year-old had put himself between the suspect and the children, who were aged between seven to 11 years old.
Helen told the publication: "Our office is in the same building as the dance studio, he heard screams and went outside, saw the attacker, saw that he had hurt a child and tried to take the knife off him and got stabbed in the leg. The dance studio is tucked away down a little alley, you wouldn't know that there was a children's dance studio there just by walking past ā you would have to have known it was there."
Shedding some light on the psychological toll the ordeal had taken on her husband, Helen continued: "I've been with him all afternoon at the hospital. He's very upset that he wasn't able to be more help. Physically he will be okay, mentally I don't know."
In an interview with the BBC, he said he did not see himself as a hero. "Some would say confronting a guy wielding a hunting knife is utter madness," he said.
Event organisers Brave dance instructor Leanne Lucas was fighting for life after protecting the children (Image:
enlighten_kidsyoga_southport/Instagram)A resident shared how two female teachers who'd been leading the 'yoga and dance' holiday club event were critically injured after bravely attempting to defend the children in their class. He told The Sun : "She was in the toilet, shut the door and locked it with one of the kids. The other got some kids to the fire exit."
Tributes poured in for brave Leanne Lucas, 35, the manager of Enlighten, a yoga studio in the seaside town, who suffered serious stab wounds. Her cousin previously said she ushered children into a storage room, where she was able to shield "two little girls" from the attacker.
Thankfully, like Mr Hayes, she recovered. Ms Lucas and her co-organiser Heidi Barlow, also 35, are believed to have saved 16 children attending the class of 25 youngsters, aged between six and 11. One tribute to Leanne posted on Facebook from someone who said they attended a training course with Leanne said she was a "beautiful young creative" who was "passionate about helping children".
The tribute read: "I'm absolutely devastated. Please please pray for Leanne. Leanne came on my training course in December. A beautiful young creative girl who was so passionate about helping children. I just can't believe it. Please pray." The qualified primary school teacher had reportedly planned the two-hour Taylor Swift session to coincide with the school holidays.
At a vigil in Liverpool last November, organised to remember women and girls who had lost their lives to male violence, Leanne said: "The guilt, shame and fear we can feel as women will be outshone by courage, fierceness and our ability to connect." Addressing the crowd, she added: "Raise your voice and share your stories. Often we don't realise how powerful we are."
Builders who 'sat' on killerAnother resident told The Sun that men working at a nearby builders' yard and a window cleaner rushed to help after hearing shouting from the studio. They continued: "I heard some lads from the builders' yard and a window cleaner came out and tried to help. They heard shouting, 'Get the kids, get the kids'.
"I don't know if they've tackled him. I heard someone sat on him. A friend of mine, his two little daughters have been stabbed. Little girls were getting worked on in gardens and mums were crying their eyes out."
'True hero' window cleaner Joel Verite has been described as a 'true hero' (Image:
Chloe Skelson/ Level Up Gym) Screams could be heard from the dance studio as Joel rushed to assist (Image:
PA)Window cleaner Joel Verite has been praised as a 'true hero' after tackling the knifeman, with the 25-year-old bravely jumping on the killer alongside police officers before carrying stab victims away from the scene. Former Rugby player Joel, who also works as a personal trainer, was at his second job as a window cleaner when he heard screams from Hart Space. The father-of-two then rushed to the aid of a woman who screamed 'Forget about me, there's a fella in there stabbing kids'
Kyle Shaw, 20, who works at Southport's Level Up Gym with Joel, told the Mirror: "He's been a true hero shown nothing but fearlessness and in that second reacted in the best way we could hope for. I think he's truly displayed how much of a fantastic person he is, within that split second heās decided what heās going to do.
"I sent him a message to say I hope he was ok, he said on Instagram he was a little bit overwhelmed. He said it was a traumatic experience. He was one of the first on the scene. He went in with the police and helped to detain the man and then helped to carry a child out. I donāt even have words for it, what a hero to pick the kids up and carry them out. He took himself to a different place and did what he had to do.ā
Meanwhile, gym co-owner Danny Noble, 28, added: "Joel was driving down the road and there was a woman on the floor and he's gone over to her. She said 'Forget about me, there's a fella stabbing kids in there'. He went in and the fella was in there with a knife or whatever he had.
"It was just Joel and just one other police officer. Another police officer turned up and the three of them went in and tackled him to the ground. Apparently one of the police officers Tasered the man and then they just all jumped on him.
Heroic neighbourThe Times reported that a selfless neighbour brought approximately ten girls to safety inside his house, with the assistance of another resident. A source said: "The community was coming together, everyone was trying to help. Everyone was trying to save the young kids."
Personal trainerThe Times also reported that the knifeman was captured at a gym, after a courageous personal trainer helped to apprehend him. Following the arrest, Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy gave the following statement shortly after the attack: "My officers were called to reports of a stabbing at 11.47am at an address in Southport. When they arrived they were shocked to find that multiple people, many of whom were children, had been subjected to a ferocious attack and had suffered serious injuries.
"It is understood that the children were attending a Taylor Swift event at a dance school when the offender, who was armed with a knife, walked into the premises and started to attack those inside."
She continued: "We believe that the adults who were injured were trying to protect the children at the time they were attacked. As a mum of two daughters, and the nanna of a five-year-old granddaughter, I cannot begin to imagine the pain and suffering the families of the victims are currently going through and I want to send them our heartfelt condolences and sympathies. Our specialist family liaison officers are providing support to the families at this terrible time."
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