Nearly two years after a devastating attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club in Southport, five young girls are speaking out for the first time about their survival and the heroes among them.
On July 29, 2024, a hooded teenager, Axel Rudakubana, entered the Hart Space, killing three girls-Elsie Dot Stancombe, Bebe King, and Alice da Silva Aguiar-and injuring eight other children and two adults. Among the survivors, a seven-year-old named Daisy was stabbed 33 times and lost her entire blood volume but managed to shield another girl before being dragged back inside.
Daisy, now nine, recently recalled the moment she was pulled back into the building. Her parents have helped her process the memories by visualizing her brain as a bookshelf with "scary books" on the floor.
Amber, eight at the time, was shielded by her 10-year-old sister Bethany, who suffered multiple wounds. Amber remains hypervigilant, unable to trust strangers, and both sisters refuse to shower alone. Bella, also 10, was the first attacked and stabbed three times but escaped. She would have died on the street if not for a Midlands air ambulance crew, who happened to be flying nearby after an abandoned job.
Another survivor, Charlotte, then nine, fled after being stabbed three times in the back, fracturing her shoulder blade and vertebrae. Her mother described her as showing "dignity and defiance."
The parents have struggled to access adequate psychological support, receiving only 12 counselling sessions through Victim Support. Some have PTSD and night terrors.
In a recent reunion during Easter, six of the girls met for pilates and cupcakes. Daisy said it felt "like having big sisters." Bella called it the "happiest she'd been in a long time." A larger reunion is planned for May.