Tributes paid to girls who died in Southport attack as hundreds attend vigil
Tributes have been paid to three girls killed in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club, as hundreds of people gathered at a vigil to pay their respects.
Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were all fatally stabbed in Southport, Merseyside, on Monday.
Eight other children suffered stab wounds and five are in a critical condition, alongside two adults who were also critically injured, police said.
Many of those taking part in a vigil on Tuesday evening outside Southport’s Atkinson arts venue were in tears as they laid flowers and cards of remembrance.
On Tuesday evening there was also a protest outside a mosque in Southport as demonstrators chanting far-right slogans clashed with police in St Luke’s Road.
Officers put on helmets and riot gear after stones and bottles were launched at them and police riot vans were attacked by a crowd of men, many of whom were wearing masks and hoodies.
Earlier, the head of the school trust attended by Alice and Bebe said the girls “will be in our hearts forever”.
Endeavour Learning Trust chief executive David Clayton said “no words can do justice to what has happened here in Southport”, as he paid tribute to Alice, a year 4 pupil at Churchtown Primary School, and former pupil Bebe.
A spokeswoman for Churchtown Primary said one of the critically injured adults is a current staff member and one is a former member of staff who is still closely associated with the school.
Natasha Sandland, the headteacher at Bebe’s school, said “words cannot do justice to describe the grief” and described her as one of Marshside Primary’s “brightest and most wonderful shining stars”.
Farnborough Road Infant School headteacher Jennifer Sephton said the school was “heartbroken and devastated” by the death of their pupil Elsie.
In a statement, Bebe’s family said: “No words can describe the devastation that has hit our family as we try to deal with the loss of our little girl Bebe.”
Alice’s family also paid tribute to their “princess”.
They said: “Keep smiling and dancing like you love to do our Princess. Like we said before to you, you’re always our princess and no one would change that. Love from Your Hero Daddy and Mummy.”
A 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, remains in custody accused of murder and attempted murder following the incident at the dance studio in Hart Street.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer visited the seaside town on Tuesday and thanked emergency service workers, telling them: “I hope you feel proud of the part that you played in the most difficult circumstances, to do what you could for those young lives.”
He laid down his wreath and stood momentarily in silence, but more than one person shouted: “How many more, Starmer? When are you going to do something?”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper updated MPs on the attack in the House of Commons on Tuesday evening, where she described it as an “unspeakable tragedy”.
She told the Commons: “These were young children, dancing to Taylor Swift and celebrating the start of the school holidays.
“What should have been a joyful start to the summer turned into an unspeakable tragedy.”
Police have said that, although the motive for the attack is unclear, it is not believed to be terror-related.
Ms Cooper said Merseyside Police were leading an “extremely serious criminal investigation”, telling MPs the force is “being supported by counter-terrorism police”.
The force said the suspect, who was born in Cardiff, is from the village of Banks, just outside Southport, and a road in the area was cordoned off by detectives on Monday afternoon.
Police said a name shared on social media in connection with the suspect is “incorrect”, adding: “We would urge people not to speculate on details of the incident while the investigation is ongoing.”
Tributes have been paid on social media to the bravery of dance and yoga teacher Leanne Lucas after she was attacked in the incident.
Ms Lucas was named as an organiser of the event run by Southport-based business Enlighten in a post on Facebook.
The fully booked club for children, which was advertised as a dance and yoga workshop as well as bracelet-making, quickly became something “like a horror movie”, witnesses to the stabbings have said.
US singer Swift said she is “completely in shock” after the “horror” of the knife attack.
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