The parents of two young girls who survived the Southport stabbings have spoken about what life has been like for their family since the attack. Axel Rudakubana, 18, murdered Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, at a Taylor Swift-themed class in the Merseyside town in July last year, when he was 17.
Rudakubana – who was jailed for a minimum of 52 years in January – attempted to murder eight other children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, class instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes. The parents of two girls, aged eight and 10 at the time they were injured in the attack in the Hart Space, have spoken to The Times about the difficulties they have faced since last July.
The couple, anonymised by The Times for legal reasons, are grateful to those who helped save their daughters’ lives and also revealed that Swift had offered to visit the children in hospital but parents agreed that it would be too soon. The girls’ father told the newspaper: “I get frustrated saying that we’re the lucky ones, because we’re not lucky, are we?.
“Our daughters went to a dance class and both nearly lost their lives. It doesn’t feel lucky at all, but it’s the only way to explain it.”. Their mother spoke of how the girls have been affected by their experience. “They can’t be on their own, they can’t shower by themselves. If we walk from the lounge to the kitchen, they’re like, ‘mum, where are you?’ It’s constant,” she said.
She tries to reassure them “constantly” that they are safe but one of their daughters will say: “You thought we were safe when you dropped us off.”. Their mother said: “What’s your reply to that? It’s so hard. I try to tell them that things like this don’t happen and she says, ‘but it did’. I can’t give her an answer.
“We have to keep reminding ourselves that we’re not to blame.”. The couple said the police, paramedics, doctors, nurses, hospital security and cleaners could “not have done more for us”, adding that they are grateful to the King and to Swift for being “so lovely” with their children.
Swift invited the families to her Wembley shows last summer, while Charles travelled to Southport and spent 45 minutes with some of the children who survived the attack, along with their families, after viewing a sea of floral tributes to the victims.
