A hero yoga teacher has revealed her desperate attempts to save children from the Southport attacker despite being knifed five times herself.
Speaking publicly for the first time since the massacre Leanne Lucas described helping young girls flee to safety and calling 999 as child killer Axel Rudakubana chased after them.
Ms Lucas had been overseeing a Swift-themed dance class in July last year when Rudakubana stormed into the studio with a kitchen knife, slashing and stabbing at everyone in his path.
Recalling the moments after the murderer entered the building Lucas told BBC Panorama: ‘I just knew that if I didn’t get out, everyone was going to die.’
A 13-year-old helping to run the class, who the broadcaster is calling Sarah, also told the programme that the knifeman looked ‘possessed’ as he stabbed her.
The pair are the first survivors who escaped the attacker to speak publicly.
Ten people were injured and three children were killed in the attack on July 29, 2024.
Sarah – who is now 14 and whose identity is protected by a court order – was seriously injured but managed to lead several other children, including her younger sister, to safety.
Speaking publicly for the first time since the massacre Leanne Lucas described helping young girls flee to safety and calling 999 as child killer Axel Rudakubana (pictured) chased after them
Sitting beside her parents, she revealed how another ‘incredible’ girl, who appeared to be only about 10 years old, was trying to keep other children calm by reassuring them: ‘Don’t worry, your parents are going to be here, everything’s going to be OK.’
The two survivors of the attack recounted how they assisted others escape the terrifying violence and how neighbours had rushed to help them.
They also revealed how misinformation spread following the attack, including messages on social media blaming Leanne for the deaths.
Leanne and Sarah both expressed shock at how authorities had missed warning signs about the attacker.
‘It’s so shocking how much evidence they had on him, how he slipped through the net,’ said Leanne.
‘You see the best and the worst at the same time,’ said Sarah, who described seeing ‘the evil side of people’ in Rudakubana’s violence and ‘all the good of all the community coming together as well to help everyone’.
