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A view of a message paying tribute to Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, is seen among floral tributes in the Town Hall Gardens in Southport, July 29, 2025
A TEENAGE girl who survived the Southport stabbing attack a year ago called today for first aid skills to be taught in all schools.
The girl, who was stabbed by Axel Rudakubana during his attack on a Taylor Swift dance class last July, described how she helped others escape despite being wounded in her arm and back.
“I just thought I was going to die,” she told Sky News as she described the horrific event, which left three young children dead. “I was just trying to get as many people out as I could.”
The survivor, who cannot be named, described Mr Rudakubana, then 17, as having “possessed” eyes and called knife crime “disgusting.”
She has since launched a campaign for mandatory first aid training in schools and a clothing range called Go Anywhere, Be Anything, which highlights knife crime.
Her sister remains traumatised, she said, and the girl hopes an inquiry will uncover “all the failings” that allowed Mr Rudakubana to “slip through the net.”
“My scars stay as a reminder, but everyone on that day is going to have mental scars forever,” she said.
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