‘I hear the screams, I see the blood’ – Southport survivor tells of nightmares

A teenager stabbed in the Southport attack said in her nightmares she sees the killer hurting children and coming towards her, “like a horror film”.

The tearful youngster told the public inquiry in Liverpool: “I still have nightmares.

“I see him coming towards me.

“I see him hurting others. I hear the screams. I see the blood.

“It plays like a horror film on repeat.”

The girl, the eldest of the children attacked by Axel Rudakubana, was at the Taylor Swift themed dance class with her younger sister.

She was stabbed in her arm and back, suffering a collapsed lung and broken bones from the blade’s impact.

Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine; Bebe King, six; and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were killed by Rudakubana, who attempted to murder eight other children and two adults on July 29 last year.

The public inquiry into the atrocity has been hearing “impact evidence” on Thursday from the surviving victims and their families, none of whom can be identified.

The teenager, in a halting voice, said dance had been her life and that day she agreed to help out with the younger children at the class.

“That day turned into a living nightmare,” she told the hearing.

As the youngsters sat around making friendship bracelets, the teenager was facing the door when Rudakubana entered the room.

“He looked possessed,” she said.

“He didn’t look human.

“I saw him stab someone in front of me and realised that he was going to hurt us all.

“Then I saw him coming towards me.

“It felt like everything slowed down, all I could hear was the screaming.

“He reached me and stabbed me in my arm.

“I turned to run and he stabbed me in my back.

“I reached the door and on the landing I screamed for the girls around me to get down the stairs and remember physically pushing them to get them out of the building to get away.

“I just kept thinking, ‘get them out, get everyone to safety’.”

She told the hearing of the huge psychological impact the incident has had on her, her sister and her family, and how it has affected her love of dancing, schoolwork and friendships.

“Recovering can feel incredibly lonely,” she added. “It can feel overwhelming being known as a ‘survivor’ of this attack.

“This will never fully go away. I can see my friends living their lives, without constant worries, but mine are always there just beneath the surface.”

The youngster also demanded “answers” from the inquiry.

She said: “Why wasn’t he stopped? There were multiple occasions where this could’ve been prevented. Why did the agencies involved not speak to each other?

“How many others are out there like him?”

The first phase of the inquiry, expected to run until November, will examine Rudakubana’s history and his dealings with relevant agencies, along with any missed opportunities to prevent what happened.

The hearing continues.