Axel Rudakubana entered a Taylor Swift-themed yoga class in Southport in July last year brandishing a blade as he knifed three young girls to death and left another 10 victims injured
A teen survivor of the dance class in which Southport killer Axel Rudakubana brutally murdered three kids has spoken out for the first time since the attack.
The youngster, whose name has been changed to Sarah to protect her identity, said the monster looked “possessed” as he plunged the knife into her at the Taylor Swift-themed class in Southport.
Sarah, now 14, was one of the 10 survivors who sustained serious injuries while bravely leading other youngsters away from the massacre.
Speaking to the BBC alongside her parents, she recalled how another girl – who she thought was just 10 years old – kept her cool despite the bloodbath just a few feet away. Sarah said she kept the other panicked girls calm by telling them: “Don’t worry, your parents are going to be here, everything’s going to be OK.”
Yoga teacher Leanne Lucas, who was running the class, also spoke out – making the pair the first of the 10 survivors to share their horrific ordeal with the public. She explained how she rang 999 while the attacker was chasing them. “I just knew that if I didn’t get out, everyone was going to die,” she said.
Leanne also revealed the sickening shock she felt after realising just “how much evidence they [the authorities] had on him”.
In January, Leanne bravely appeared at Liverpool Crown Court to give a powerful victim statement about how the events of July 29 last year had changed her life forever. She told the court “I constantly see his face” and how “this will continue to happen for the rest of my life”.
Leanne was stabbed five times when twisted Rudakubana, then aged 17, burst into the event at the Hart Space, in Southport, and started viciously attacking the children. Bebe King, six, Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, all died in the attack.
As an 18-year-old Rudakubana pleaded guilty to all 16 offences he faced on the first day of his trial at Liverpool Crown Court. He later returned to court to be sentenced for three counts of murder, the attempted murders of eight other children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, class instructor Leanne and businessman John Hayes.
Leanne was taking the class with Heidi Liddle – who managed to take shelter in the toilets – when Rudakubana embarked on his murderous rampage. Today she told the court: “As a 36 year old woman, I cannot stay in my own home. As a 36 year old woman I cannot go to work. As a 36 year old woman I cannot walk down the street without holding my breath as I bypass a person and then glance back to see if they’ve attempted to stab me.
“As a 36 year old woman I cannot enter a public place without considering how I will get out in the event of an emergency. As a 36 year old woman I cannot give myself compassion or accept praise, as how can I live knowing I survived when children died.”
