Mum shares 'uncomfortable truth' as Southport victim stabbed 33 times 'had to save herself'

Southport victim survivors' parents have recounted the horrors their small children experienced during the stabbings nearly a year ago, revealing their incredible bravery and devastating lasting consequences of Axel Rudakubana's crimes.

Rudakubana, 18, will spend at least 52 years behind bars after he was found to have killed three young girls, Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Bebe King, six, in a knife rampage during a Taylor Swift-themed dance party at Hart Place in Southport, Merseyside. An inquiry at Liverpool Town Hall chaired by Sir Adrian Fulford has heard from the parents of four children - know only as C3, Child Q, C8 and C1 - who survived but were left with severe physical injuries and a devastating psychological burden.

The parents of young C1, who was stabbed 33 times by Rudakubana inside the dance venue, closed out today's inquiry hearing with an account of the harrowing events their daughter survived. Her mother told the hearing she suffered "catastophic damage" after protecting other young children targeted by the twisted teen, and recounted how she had to "save herself" when adults ran to get help.

READ MORE: Southport inquiry UPDATES: Parents of children injured by Axel Rudakubana speak of horror

She told the hearing: "That is how she became known in this nightmare - the girl that was dragged back in. She is so much more than that moment on CCTV. Those moments carried so much courage and determination to survive, that the CCTV footage does not tell us.”

The mum said: The damage was catastrophic. The hours and days that followed the attack were a living hell. Before last summer we would say ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’ - turn the fear of doing something new into excitement and go for it, you won't regret it. We no longer say that. Because her fears are now painfully real. She loved adventure, she tried everything.

"She went into the world ready to explore and without hesitation, because she believed, rightfully, that she would be safe. She does not live that way anymore. I am here today to share some of her story and journey. I want to tell you of her bravery and strength and how hard she is fighting, still now, to survive.

"I am sharing these deeply personal moments, because you are responsible for what happens next. This inquiry must bring meaningful, substantial change to ensure no child will ever share her experience again. To ensure the safety of our children.”

Her mother said the most devastating thing to come to terms with was that there were “no adults to help” her daughter. She said: "She was only supported by other children. The courage and strength she found leaves me crushed, but in complete awe. I would like to say that I don't for a moment doubt that the actions of the teachers there that day saved lives.

“They escaped to call the police and flag down help, they shielded other children. I am grateful for what they did for those girls. But the uncomfortable and often unspoken truth of our own reality is that, when the adults left in those first moments, our daughter had to save herself."

“It is these untold stories of remarkable strength and bravery that are missing when we have heard other accounts of this day. I think it is vitally important that those girls are now heard.

“She had fought like hell to get herself out of that building, twice, and that reality is painful. Our children fought alone, they shielded each other, comforted each other, and helped each other and that must be remembered.” She described in detail how her daughter battled to save her life and the lives of others inside the building.

“She tells me that she had tried to find a way out. There was only one way to safety, to find her dad and that was down the stairs. She tells us how the door was narrow, and everyone was trying to push through. She describes it as a stampede.

“In the chaos she was knocked over and found herself trapped and huddled with two other children at the top of the stairs. She talks quietly of how she put her arms around the girls as he began to attack them. She tells me with such clarity that a moment came where one of the girls was able to get up.

“She put the girl's hand on the handrail and told her to go — to get down the stairs - and she did. The attack continued, she was still holding another girl, ‘I crouched over the top of her’, she says. ‘I told her it would be okay’.

“She recalls this with such purpose and determination, like it was her responsibility. It happened so fast, but I helped them, I'm glad I could help them, mum’, she tells me. She pulled herself up on the middle landing and tells me how she yelled for the other girl to follow her.

“But he started coming after her and she had to run. She tells me how she couldn't breathe, and things were getting fuzzy. She had, we believe, about five or six stab wounds by this point. Somehow, she emerges from the building and we see her, for a brief moment on CCTV, escaping, finding help, showing so much strength.

“But her arm is badly injured and it's trailing behind, and he grabs it. In a flash of struggle, she's gone again. For eleven seconds she is out of sight. And then there she is again. She has stood up after enduring another attack of more than twenty stab wounds to her back and shoulders.

“She stumbles outside to the windows reaching for help. She eventually falls and soon after is carried to safety. She may be a survivor of this attack, but she is still trying to survive this, every single day. We tell her she was brave. How proud we are that she was able to help other girls. How her strength makes us feel strong. How important what she did that day was.

“She feels that in those moments it was her responsibility to help other girls and get them out of the building. She looks back at what she could or should have done differently and how this might have changed the outcome. She struggles to understand how she survived."

“She is grieving for children she didn't know before that day. She is trying to make sense of something that makes no sense. She needs us to guarantee her safety in a world where we can't. It is like sucking out poison. I don't know where to put all the poison at the moment.

“I just carry it with me. It feels sacred and important to protect. I am painfully aware of how close we came to losing her that day and in the days after. How lucky we are to have her with us is not lost on me. Not a day, sometimes even an hour, goes by where I don't become overwhelmed with relief that she is still here.

“Supporting and caring for a survivor of this sort of attack is relentless, exhausting, constantly re-traumatising and incredibly lonely. It cripples every corner of our life. We have to second guess every moment to try and protect everyone. The guilt of taking her that day though is hard to overcome. I want her to know that she was responsible for her survival.

“Life is full of constant triggers that we try to protect her, and ourselves, from. She recalls the noise the knife made and the force that felt like punching. Her body shudders sporadically throughout the day and she looks at me. I know that she's having a flashback and feeling it all over again. She does this often when she looks at her scars."

“Her scars are painful reminders of how brutally her body was violated. She didn't ask for them. They weren't put there through surgery, or something she had any say over, or understanding of. Her body was stolen from her. She is often sad and angry. Angry that someone was able to take such a special day from her.

“She deserves an apology - our girls deserve an apology, backed up by the promise that changes will be made and this will not be allowed to happen again. She continues to make steady progress, as we continue to try and rebuild our lives. We are so proud of every step she has taken both physically and mentally.

“She continues to fight to get her life back. We are under no illusion though, that she and our family are forever changed by last year and will be managing the consequences of it for our lifetime.” She finished her statement with a tribute to her daughter, saying: “You are pure magic, we are so proud of you, and we love you so much.”