A HERO yoga teacher who relived her desperate bid to save girls from the Southport killer said “if I didn’t get out, everyone would die”.
On July 29 last year teenage killer Axel Rudakubana burst into a Taylor Swift-themed dance class at The Hart Space armed with a knife.
Leanne Lucas relived the moment she saved children from the Southport killer[/caption]
Axel Rudakubana was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 52 years[/caption]
The dance teacher was stabbed five times[/caption]
He murdered Elsie, seven, as well as Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, and Bebe King, six, and injured several others.
Rudakubana, 19, was jailed for life to serve a minimum of 52 years in prison last month.
Yoga teacher Leanne Lucas, who had organised the dance class, was knifed five times while she bravely protected children as the horror unfolded.
She was able to help several girls out and shield them from the attacker – while she bled from stab wounds to her spine, head, lung, ribs, and shoulder blade.
Speaking to the BBC’s Panorama, the heroic teacher said: “I just knew that if I didn’t get out, everyone was going to die.
“He was bigger than me. And I just thought: I need to get some help.
“So we all run towards the door. We were shouting ‘run!’ I called 999 on the landing and I asked for the police.”
Once Leanne had escaped, she begged members of the public to “go and get the children”.
She told how she felt her body failing her, while her mind was still “going 100 miles and hour”.
Another Southport killer survivor, a 14-year-old girl who has been called Sarah to protect her identity, has also broken her silence.
The teen recalled how she pushed children down stairs to help get them out.
“I thought that he wasn’t going to stop until he killed everyone. I thought that he wanted to kill us all,” she added.
Leanne’s quick-thinking colleague Heidi Liddle also escaped uninjured after locking some of the children inside a toilet.
And, businessman Jonathan Hayes who was working in the office next door, was attacked after he ran inside and bravely tried to stop the carnage.
Leanne has previously spoken about the trauma, in a heartbreaking statement at Rudakubana’s sentencing hearing.
She said: “As a 36-year-old woman I cannot give myself compassion or accept praise, as how can I live knowing I survived when children died.
“I spent many months thinking about the incident 24 hours a day seven days a week.
“Just when I felt I could settle and try to move forward, the trauma of that day is now back at the forefront.
“I constantly see his face; new memories have appeared, and this will continue to happen for the rest of my life.”
Read more on the tragedy
- Axel Rudakubana told police “I’m glad they’re dead” after the horror
- The families of victims told how their lives were ‘shattered in an instant’
- Shocking pictures show a cache of weapons found in Rudakubana’s home
- All the missed chances to stop the killer have been revealed
- Furious MPs demanded the death penalty should be brought back for monsters like Rudakubana
- A Sky News reporter broke down on air while covering the sentencing
Leanne said she has been affected both physically and mentally by the horror and has been left with scars that serve as “visual daily reminders” of what Rudubakana did to the victims.
She also revealed how she had to endure three stays in hospital and undergo multiple surgeries.
Leanne continued: “The trauma of being both a victim and a witness has been horrendous.
“There are times when I will spiral into trauma and the effect this has had on those close to me is unforgivable.
“The impact this has had on me can be summed up by one word: trauma.
“He targeted us because we were women and girls, vulnerable and easy prey.
“To discover that he had always set out to hurt the vulnerable is beyond comprehensible.”
Elsie Dot Stancombe was tragically killed[/caption]
Bebe King was the youngest of the three victims[/caption]
This comes after the heartbroken families of Elsie, Alice, and Bebe, bravely spoke out about the tragedy earlier this month.
Speaking to The Sunday Times, Bebe’s dad cast his mind back to the horror.
He said after hearing news of the attack, he thought Bebe might have still been at home safe.
The 43-year-old, who works for HM Revenue & Customs, said: “We had given people Bebe’s description. When that person came towards me, I could feel the blood drain from me and I went cold.
“I knew she was going to tell me something. And she did. ‘Are you Bebe’s dad?’ As soon as I said yes she said she had passed away.”
Bebe’s mum recalled how she was in Marks & Spencer when her husband called to tell her.
She ran outside and got into a taxi, which dropped her to the scene.
When she heard the devastating news, she fell to her knees screaming.
Also speaking to the Sunday Times, Elsie’s mum, Jenni Stancombe, recalled the unthinkable events.
She and her husband David dropped Elsie, a passionate Swiftie, off at the class at 10am.
The parent of another girl in the class had offered to have Elsie round to play afterwards, and agreed to drop her back round at 3pm.
Shortly before midday, Jenni got a call from the other mum who said: “Something awful has happened. Somebody’s stabbed the kids.”
Jenni bolted in her car to the studio, beeping her horn and running red lights to get through traffic.
She abandoned the car in the middle of the road once she saw the chaotic scene but police stopped them from entering.
The parents were later told Elsie had died inside the studio during the attack.
Dad David said: “No human being should ever have to witness what we witnessed on that day.”
Bebe and Elsie’s killer – who also attempted to murder eight other children at random – was jailed for life with a minimum of 52 years last month.
Jenni and David have also spoken about the need for accountability after a Government inquiry was launched.
In their first TV interview, the parents told of their heartbreak and said they would give anything to swap places with their daughter.
Asked about what they want to come out of the inquiry into the failings that led to Rudakubana slipping through the cracks despite being flagged up as a danger, Jenni said: “An element of accountability.”
She continued: “So someone has made a decision that has resulted in an element of failure, then there needs to be accountability for that.
“And I believe that the announcement of the inquiry will do that and it will hold people to account for some of the decisions that they’ve made.”
It comes after a damning Government report confirmed earlier this month that counter-extremism police three times closed investigations on twisted Rudakubana prior to the Southport murders.
A separate review of the entire scheme is being conducted to see how it can stop more atrocities.
As well as murdering Elsie, Bebe and Alice, Rudakubana also attempted to murder eight other children, as well as class instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes.
Among other atrocities, the report said he was fascinated by the Ariana Grande concert bombing in 2016 which killed 22 people, including children.
He is also said to have asked during a 2019 art lesson why he was able to draw images of guns but not search them on the internet.
He then asked “can we have a picture of a severed head then”.
Security Minister Dan Jarvis said the killer was reported to Prevent three times but not referred for further monitoring.
Timeline of events related to the Southport stabbings
AXEL Rudakubana has pleaded guilty to the murders of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, and 10 counts of attempted murder.
Here is a timeline of events relating to the case:
2002: Rudakubana’s father Alphonse moves to the UK from Rwanda, according to an interview he gave to his local newspaper in Southport in 2015.
August 7, 2006: Rudakubana is born in Cardiff, Wales.
2013: The family – including Rudakubana’s father, mother and older brother – move from Wales to Banks in Lancashire, a few miles from Southport.
July 29, 2024: Shortly before midday, a knifeman enters a dance class at The Hart Space in Hart Street in Southport.
Bebe, Elsie and Alice are fatally wounded. Eight other children are injured, as are instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes.
Police say they have detained a male and seized a knife.
Within hours, claims spread online that the suspect is an asylum seeker who arrived in the UK by boat in 2023.
Some claims include an alleged identity.
July 30, 2024: In the evening, a peaceful vigil is held outside Southport’s Atkinson arts venue, where flowers are laid in memory of those who died.
Shortly after the vigil, a separate protest begins outside the town’s mosque in St Luke’s Road.
People throw items towards the mosque, property is damaged and police vehicles are set on fire.
July 31, 2024: Demonstrators gather in Whitehall, London, for an “Enough Is Enough” protest.
Flares and cans are thrown at police and more than 100 people are arrested.
Disorder also breaks out in Hartlepool, County Durham, and Aldershot, Hampshire.
August 1, 2024: Police announce that Rudakubana has been charged with the murders of Bebe, Elsie Dot and Alice, 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article.
He is not named by police because of his age.
He appears in court in Liverpool and Honorary Recorder of Liverpool Andrew Menary KC rules he can be named, as he is due to turn 18 in a week.
He initially smiled on entering the courtroom – then kept his face covered by his sweatshirt for the remainder of the proceedings before the case was adjourned.
Later that evening, demonstrators gather outside a hotel in Newton Heath, Manchester.
August 2, 2024: Three police officers are taken to hospital after disorder in Sunderland.
August 3, 2024: There are scenes of violence during planned protests across the UK, including in Liverpool, Hull, Nottingham and Belfast.
August 4, 2024: Disorder continues, including outside a Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, where masked demonstrators launch lengths of wood and sprayed fire extinguishers at police officers.
August 5, 2024: The Government holds an emergency Cobra meeting in the wake of the disorder and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer vows to “ramp up criminal justice”.
That evening, a peaceful vigil is held in Southport, a week on from the killings. Police deal with disorder in Plymouth, Devon and Darlington, County Durham.
August 7, 2024: Prison sentences for those involved in the unrest begin to be handed out. Derek Drummond, 58, is the first person to be jailed for violent disorder at Liverpool Crown Court, where he is sentenced to three years.
More than 100 protests are planned for across the country, with counter-demonstrations taking place, but the majority of police forces report very little trouble.
October 29, 2024: Merseyside Police announces Rudakubana will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court via videolink the next day charged with production of a biological toxin, Ricin, and possession of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism.
October 30, 2024: Rudakubana appears at Westminster Magistrates’ Court via videolink from HMP Belmarsh to face the two new charges.
He holds his sweater over the bottom half of his face and does not respond when asked to confirm his name.
November 13, 2024: Rudakubana appears at Liverpool Crown Court via videolink. He covers his face with his grey sweatshirt and does not speak throughout the hearing.
About 20 family members of victims sit in the public gallery. The case is adjourned until December 12, when a preparatory hearing will take place.
January 20, 2025: Rudakubana appears at Liverpool Crown Court for the first day of his trial where he pleads guilty to all 16 charges, including the murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven.
