A devastating tragedy unfolded on July 29 at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, leaving the local community in shock and mourning. Three young schoolgirls—Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven; Bebe King, six; and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine—lost their lives after being fatally stabbed by 18-year-old Axel Rudakubana during what was meant to be an afternoon of fun and dancing.
The horrific incident occurred at a dance studio where the girls had gathered for their class. According to accounts from grieving family members, the morning had started like any other. Elsie’s mum, Jenni, recalled that her husband, David, had dropped Elsie off at the studio at 10 am, as reported by the Daily Record. The plan was for Elsie to be picked up later by the mother of a friend so that she could join in play with other children until 3 pm.
Jenni remembered taking her daughter to the stairs of the studio, where the dance class leader, Leanne Lucas, greeted them. With a joyful spirit, Elsie then ran off to join the other children sitting in a circle. Reflecting on that early moment, Jenni told The Sunday Times: “She was a Swiftie through and through. I watched her sit down and waved her off and I left her.”
The heartbreaking reality hit Jenni around midday when she received a call from another mother. “Something awful has happened. Somebody’s stabbed the kids. I said, ‘What do you mean?’ She went, ‘It’s really bad. You need to get here.’ ” Without hesitation, Jenni and David dashed to the dance studio. “I just ran. I left the whole house open and got in the car. It’s a five-minute drive from ours and we must have got there in a minute.
We kept our hands on the horn, going faster and faster, jumping every red light on the road, we were on the other side of the road, people throwing their hands up to us. I just didn’t care, I just kept whacking the horn. We got there and just deserted the car in the middle of the road and just ran. And by that point, police started trying to push people back.”
Upon arriving at the scene, both parents tried to enter the dance studio but were held back by officers. Jenni recalled, “The police just lifted David off his feet and said, ‘You’re not getting in there, mate’.” The couple then separated to search desperately for Elsie. David later added, “You knew when you got there how bad it was. No human being should ever have to witness what we witnessed on that day.”
As the investigation progressed, the full extent of the tragedy became known, and the assailant was identified as Axel Rudakubana. He has since been sentenced to a life term with a minimum of 52 years following the ramage, and it emerged that he also attempted to murder eight other children—whose names remain legally protected—as well as class instructor Ms Lucas and businessman John Hayes. The community continues to reel from this senseless act of violence, and the grief of the families endures as they seek answers and healing.
