Coroner’s dignified tribute to Bebe, Alice and Elsie puts rioters to shame

The victims of the stabbing attack in Southport that left three girls dead will be ‘missed beyond any description’, a coroner has said.

Bebe King, six, Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, died after a 17-year-old wielding a knife attacked a children’s dance class.

Inquests into the girls’ deaths were opened and adjourned today at Bootle Town Hall in the seaside town, each lasting just 10 minutes.

Senior coroner Julie Goulding said: ‘It is impossible to adequately articulate the devastating, lifelong effects the truly tragic events of Monday, July 29 2024 have had, and will continue to have, on the parents, families and friends of Elsie, Bebe and Alice, who cruelly lost their young lives in such horrific circumstances.

‘The three young children were full of life and energy and will be missed beyond any description my woefully inadequate words may attempt to describe.

‘I therefore offer my deepest condolences to Elsie’s, Bebe’s and Alice’s parents, families and friends, and those heartfelt condolences of all of my staff here at the coroner’s court.’

Goulding confirmed that the inquests were suspended to allow criminal proceedings to take place.

Axel Rudakubana, 17, from Lancashire, will stand trial next year after being charged with murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article in a public place.

The class for children aged six to 11 was held at Hart Space, a yoga and community studio hosting events to keep schoolchildren occupied over the summer holidays.

The sold-out, Taylor Swift-themed yoga and dance workshop ended in mayhem when the attacker walked into the class and began to strike them.

Eight youngsters and two adults were also wounded, with witnesses saying they saw children bleeding on the street.

The adults, police said, were thought to have been injured when ‘bravely trying to protect the children’.

While the suspect was born and raised in Britain, online rumours from the far right spread that he was a Muslim asylum seeker, receiving millions of views.

Tommy Robinson, an anti-Islam agitator, convicted criminal and founder of the far-right English Defence League, was among those fanning the misinformation.

Within a day, extremist groups urged followers to take to the streets and hundreds of rioters ripped through Southport, lobbing bricks at mosques, setting cars on fire and injuring police officers.

Hope Not Hate, a British anti-extremism watchdog group, said of the riots: ‘The explosion of anger on display in Southport was a toxic cocktail of raw and understandable horror at the brutal murder of children, mixed with ingrained societal Islamophobia and misinformation spread by influencers seeking to inflame tensions.’

Violent unrest has shown no signs of ceasing, with protests exploding in major towns and cities in England and Northern Ireland, with dozens more expected today.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.