The father of one of the girls injured in the Southport attack has told an inquiry she was stabbed in the back by a “coward she didn’t see”.
On Wednesday, the second day of the public inquiry heard evidence from families of the children who survived the attack, carried out by Axel Rudakubana at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on July 29 last year.
The father of one of the girls, who was referred to as C3 during the hearing to protect her identity, told the hearing at Liverpool Town Hall it was “patently clear that lessons need to be learned from what happened, and processes need to be changed”.
Sitting beside the girl’s mother in the witness box, he said: “Our nine-year-old daughter was stabbed three times in the back by a coward she didn’t even see.
“Although she didn’t know what was happening — she knew she had to run. ”
He said they had since seen CCTV footage of her running from the building on Hart Street, looking “scared, confused and pained” and hiding behind a parked car, before jumping to “relative safety” through an open car door.
He added: “We remain eternally grateful that we were lucky that day, and that the skill of the paramedics, surgeons and medical staff meant we got our little girl back.”
Describing his daughter as his “hero”, the father said she remained “the positive, caring, funny, enthusiastic, courageous girl she always was”.
He said: “She wears her scars with a dignity and defiance that is remarkable.”
The mother of another girl who was at the event, referred to as Child Q, said arriving to collect her daughter on that day and seeing screaming children from the building was “the most horrific experience of my life”.
“To be unaware of what was happening, trying to process it all whilst also being fearful of what could happen next – it’s an unexplainable feeling,” she said.
“What I saw on that day will stick with me forever, I constantly have flashbacks and re-live what happened.”
The statement, read by the family’s legal representative, said Child Q was “an anxious little girl” who had taken “significant step” by attending the event as she often struggled socially outside school.
The girl’s mother said: “Although physically unharmed, she has struggled with the psychological impact of the trauma and to this day has been unable to talk to us about what happened and what she witnessed.
“Our daughter became very withdrawn, emotional and had so many worries. In her words, due to what she witnessed, ‘How will I ever be normal again’?
“She is even more anxious about not being with us or being dropped off at another event without us.
“She is scared when she hears a siren or sees an emergency vehicle. Q is still unable to sleep alone and struggles with falling asleep.
“She always asks for doors to be closed when we enter or leave a room, this helps her to feel safe.”
Child Q’s mother said her daughter now has to sit where she can see the door at school so she can always be aware of who is entering the classroom, and is sometimes unable to attend school altogether due to her anxiety.
She added: “We will always do everything we can to make sure that what happened doesn’t control our lives or take away our joy.
“Our daughter is a strong, brave and beautiful little girl who has so much love and support around her to get her through the tough days.
“As her parents all we want is for her to feel safe, loved and to enjoy her childhood and we will do everything we can to make this happen.”
A statement was read on behalf of the mother of a seven-year-old girl referred to as C8.
Her mother described her daughter as having an “incredible energy”, but said the incident in July “changed everything”.
She said she was at work on July 29 when she received a “panicked phone call” from her friend’s mother.
She said: “That moment, the sound of fear in her voice and the panic I felt will never leave me.
“I rushed to the scene and what I saw is something no parent should ever see.”
She said her daughter, who suffered injuries to her arm and face, could not be left alone any more and only felt safe with a small number of people, needing “constant support, reassurance and protection”.
She had “witnessed horrors that no-one should ever see”, she said.
She said: “I am grateful beyond words that she survived. But what she went through, what she saw and what she continues to carry has changed everything.”
Counsel to the inquiry Nicholas Moss KC said commemorative and impact evidence from victims and families was the “first and important part” of the first phase of the public inquiry.
Four statements were due to be heard on Wednesday, with more evidence from families expected when hearings resume in September.
The inquiry was opened on Tuesday by chairman Sir Adrian Fulford, who described the acts of Rudakubana as “one of the most egregious crimes in our country’s history”.
The 18-year-old was given a life sentence in January, with a minimum term of 52 years, for the murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven.
He also attempted to murder eight other children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, as well as instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes.
In his opening statement, Sir Adrian said Rudakubana “posed a very serious and significant risk of violent harm, with a particular and known predilection for knife crime”.
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