'He targeted us because we were women and girls, vulnerable and easy prey'

Children's yoga teacher Leanne Lucas
-Credit:Facebook


A brave teacher who tried to protect children from a knifeman during a Taylor Swift-themed workshop has spoken out about how the horrific attack has scarred her. Leanne Lucas was leading the class on July 29 last year when Axel Rudakubana began his attack on the class of 26 children, killing six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar.

The 18-year-old appeared in Liverpool Crown Court today after pleading guilty to the three murders, along with the attempted murders of eight children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and two adults - Ms Lucas and John Hayes - possession of a bladed article, namely a curved kitchen knife, production of a biological toxin, namely ricin, and possession of information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, namely a PDF file entitled "Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants: The Al-Qaeda Training Manual".

He walked into the room and worked his way around the room stabbing children, as well as Ms Lucas and Mr Hayes who attempted to protect the 26 little girls who attended the class that morning. Rudakubana was detained after his 12 minute rampage through the studio, giving chase and stabbing children in the back as they attempted to flee.

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During the sentencing on Thursday, following shouts from the dock where he claimed he was ill, he was dismissed and the proceedings continued. After a break for lunch, he returned to the dock holding a toy but again complained about being ill and suffering pains, the judge, Mr Justice Goose, again dismissed him before continuing with victim personal statements.

Reading out an emotional statement to the court, where families and victims sat, Ms Lucas said: "As a 36 year old woman, I cannot stay in my own home alone. As a 36 year old woman I cannot go to work. As a 36 year old woman I cannot walk down the street without holding my breath as I bypass a person and then glance back to see if they’ve attempted to stab me. As a 36 year old woman I cannot enter a public place without considering how I will get out in the event of an emergency. 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.

"There was a long period of time after the incident where I felt I had no trust in society. I am trying to see the goodness in the world however the badness has been evidentially proven to me to exist, in plain sight, on our doorsteps, in our community. You never think this is going to happen to you, I never thought this was going to happen to me and now my mindset has been altered to it could happen to you and it will probably happen to you. I feel that I have lost the ability to accept people now as they are. I worked with teenagers, I never would have considered that they would hurt me or hurt younger children.

"I spent many months thinking about the incident 24 hours a day 7 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.

"My role in Southport was to help others, mainly children and their families. My work was a safe haven for those who needed it the most. All I wanted to do was make a positive impact and highlight goodness and positivity. Families felt a part of a community I had built, from scratch, being self-employed. I have now lost my role, my purpose and my job as I can no longer provide that guidance and reassurance to anyone. I feel like I can no longer be trusted again, I know people will disagree and say that is not true however his actions have proven I can never feel that level of responsibility again where there may be dangers to others.

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"On that day I received several injuries that have not only affected me physically, but also mentally. I, as do the girls, have scars we cannot unsee, scars we cannot move on from. Visual daily reminders of not only what he has done to us but a stark reminder of what others can still do to us. I endured three hospital stays where I undertook multiple surgeries and received treatment for my injuries. At a time where home comforts may have helped me, I sat staring at hospital walls further impacting my mental health. My family and friends suffered during this whole period of time, not being able to process what he had done because they were sat by my bed side trying to support me.

"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 comprehension. For Alice, Elsie, Bebe, Heidi and the surviving girls, I’m surviving for you."