A 14-year-old girl who was stabbed during the Southport mass stabbing told a public inquiry on Friday that the attacker "didn't look human" and that she relives the events "like a horror film on repeat." The teenager, identified in court documents as child C6, gave evidence at Liverpool Town Hall as the inquiry examines the killer's history and contacts with agencies ahead of the July 29, 2024, attack.
Child C6 told the inquiry she was 13 at the time and had been attending a Taylor Swift–themed dance workshop at Hart Spaces when the attacker, later identified as then-17-year-old Axel Rudakubana, entered wearing a green hoodie and a face mask. She said she looked at his eyes and "he looked possessed" before seeing him stab someone in front of her and realising "he was going to hurt us all."
According to evidence heard by the inquiry, three children were killed in the attack: Alice Aguiar, 9; Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7; and Bebe King, 6. Eight other children and two adults were seriously wounded. Child C6 said the attacker stabbed her in the arm and then in the back as she tried to run. Despite her injuries she said she screamed for younger children to get down the stairs and physically pushed some of them out of the building.
The inquiry was told Child C6 sustained a collapsed lung and two broken bones in her back and was taken for emergency surgery before her parents could see her in hospital. She said she continues to suffer deep psychological trauma, struggles with core strength and stamina, and feels isolated in her recovery, describing herself as "stuck between two worlds" because she believes she does not fit with survivors either older or younger than her.
Giving her account clearly but with pauses to gather herself, Child C6 expressed sympathy for the families who lost children. "I cannot imagine the pain of the parents of Alice, Elsie and Bebe," she told the hearing. She said she and her family miss Alice, who had been a close friend of her younger sister.
The inquiry's first phase is hearing testimony from survivors and their families about the assault and will investigate Rudakubana's background and the extent of his contact with public bodies, including any potential missed opportunities to intervene. Child C6 asked why agencies did not share information and "why he was not stopped," adding: "How many others are out there like him? This can't happen again."
Sir Adrian Fulford, chairman of the inquiry, praised Child C6 for her contribution. Earlier in the day, the parents of two children who escaped without physical injury recounted their daughters' initial belief that a man had entered with a fake knife and fake blood. One mother quoted her youngest child saying: "Mummy, he didn't knock on the door, he didn't ask to come in and nobody wanted him there."
The father of two survivors told the inquiry the proceedings "matter" for the children, for parents who feared losing their children and for those who did lose family members. The inquiry is expected to hear further testimony from survivors, families and agency representatives as it seeks to build a timeline of Rudakubana's life and contacts prior to the attack and to identify whether different actions could have prevented the killings and injuries.
The hearings continue as the inquiry moves through its first phase, which will inform potential recommendations for changes to how agencies share information and assess risk to prevent similar attacks in future.