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The mother of a young girl repeatedly stabbed during the Southport knife attack has revealed her daughter asks if her attacker was loved, and “what happened to make him so angry?”
The public inquiry into the attack, which claimed the lives of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and left eight more children and two adults wounded, heard that the girl, known as child four to protect her identity, suffers flashbacks and nightmares, and lives in “constant fear”.
Before attending the Taylor Swift-themed dance class where the horrific attack unfolded on July 29 last year, the girl’s mother said her daughter had been carefree and vivacious, but she had since become fearful after killer Axel Rudakubana embarked on his rampage against the group of young children.
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(left to right) Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice da Silva Aguiar were killed in the attack(Merseyside Police)
Another mother spoke of a “level of bravery no child should ever show”, after her eldest daughter protected her younger sister from being stabbed.
The woman, whose daughters were referred to as child C2 and C7, said her eldest, who had already been seriously injured, saw “pure fear” on her sister’s face as she crouched while Rudakubana stood over her with his knife raised.
She said: “Our eldest, just a child herself and already injured, dragged her sister in front of her to protect her.”
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Their eldest daughter was stabbed again before the girls scrambled to escape and became separated, she told the inquiry.
Meanwhile, her youngest daughter was stabbed in the back as she ran down the stairs to safety, with both girls now living with “trauma that no child should carry”.
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Floral tributes on the junction of Tithebarn Road and Hart Street in Southport, following the attack(PA)
She said her children knew little about the events of the day and their attacker, but their youngest had asked: “Are his mummy and daddy really mad for what he’s done?”
She said: “Eventually they will ask more and they will be able to search for information themselves.
“I have no doubt that it will be devastating to them if they are to read that this could have been prevented. We will have no option but to guide them through this.
The mother of child four said her daughter still suffers deep insecurity about her surroundings and the whole family is still processing the trauma.
She also spoke of her pride for her daughter and the bravery and compassion displayed by all of the young girls attacked that day.
“One of the last girls to escape the building alive, and with no adults in the building able to assist her, she had to advocate for herself and find her own way out,” she said.
“She tells us vividly about how she chose to wait and allow others out first because she had already been attacked and didn’t want them to be. She told them to run and not scream – advice she remembered being told when there had been a gas leak at her school.
“Clustered at the top of the stairs, she was attacked again.
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The inquiry heard impact evidence on Tuesday from families of those affected(PA)
“We are so proud of how kind and caring our girl is, her finest qualities shone through in the darkest of moments.
“There are so many of these stories of heroism from all of the girls that day.”
The mother of child L said that while her daughter was not physically harmed by Rudakubana, the emotional damage “cannot be underestimated”.
She said: “She – along with the others present that day – was targeted by someone who we now know was already known to multiple agencies.
“That knowledge alone is a burden we carry every day.”
This week, the inquiry is due to hear impact statements from families of surviving children, who cannot be named, dance teachers Leanne Lucas and Heidi Liddle and businessman Jonathan Hayes, who was stabbed when he left his office after hearing the attack unfold.
The first phase of the inquiry, which is due to run until November, is expected to hear details of previous incidents where Rudakubana was found with a knife and of three referrals made to the government’s counter-terror programme Prevent.
His involvement with the criminal justice system, his education, his engagement with social and health care services and his relationship with his family are all expected to be analysed.
A second phase of the inquiry is expected to look at addressing the risk posed by young people who have a fixation with extreme violence.