Southport response showed ‘bad meeting good’, detective tells inquiry

The response to the Southport attack was an example of “bad meeting good”, a detective told the public inquiry as he praised members of the public who stepped in to help.

Neighbours and off-duty medical professionals came to the aid of injured girls who escaped the dance studio in Hart Street after Axel Rudakubana entered with a knife on July 29 last year, Detective Chief Inspector Jason Pye, the senior investigating officer, told Liverpool Town Hall on Monday.

He said: “It was definitely an example of bad meeting good. There were lots of members of the public, some professional, some not, who had no duty of care but actually stopped to assist.

“People may have seen on television how chaotic the scene was outside, but there were lots of good people and it is only right that we recognise that work that those people did.”

Rudakubana, 18, killed Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and attempted to murder 10 others after he launched his knife attack at the Taylor Swift dance class.

The inquiry heard how 22 of the 26 girls attending the holiday club ran from the building within minutes of Rudakubana entering.

Mr Pye said resident Stephen Mitton saw girls running down the street and ushered them into his house, where his wife Pamela Mitton took care of them and called the ambulance service.

A number of off-duty nurses also came to the aid of the children, including Manju John who was at home when she heard children in the street, the inquiry heard.

Window cleaners Joel Verite and Marcin Tyjon were flagged down by dance teacher Leanne Lucas, who was the first to call 999 as she escaped from the building with serious injuries.

Mr Verite went inside the studio and later warned police Rudakubana had a knife, telling a police officer who was armed with just a baton: “You need a f****** gun, mate.”

The inquiry heard Mr Verite stood outside the doors with PCSO Timothy Parry as the first officers on scene, Sergeant Gregory Gillespie and Pc Luke Holden went inside the building.

When they heard the officers, who had seen Rudakubana on the landing of the building, shout “knife” both men ran inside to assist.

The attacker was “verbally remonstrating” after physical force was used to get him to the ground and arrest him, Mr Pye confirmed.

He also accepted that, with no one stationed outside the building, some family members were able to walk inside and saw the “awfully distressing scene”.

He said: “Everything happened so quickly from Mr Holden and Mr Gillespie going in there, there wasn’t any other officers at the scene.

“This was anything far from textbook.”

The hearing was also told Rudakubana ordered three machetes online, using driving licences belonging to other people, but two were found still in packaging and had potentially been intercepted by his family.

The inquiry was adjourned until Tuesday, when Mr Pye is expected to continue his evidence.