Southport teen sobs as she 'blames herself' for not being able to save stabbing victims

Channel 4’s One Day in Southport aired tonight, leaving viewers shaken by its unflinching portrayal of the tragic events of July 29, 2024. The documentary revisits the devastating day a Taylor Swift-themed dance class at Hart Space in Southport was turned into a crime scene when 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana launched a brutal knife attack.

The film follows the story of one young survivor and her family, using raw testimony from victims, witnesses, and community members to discuss how violence, disinformation, and extremism collided.

Rudakubana fatally stabbed three young girls called Bebe King (6), Elsie Dot Stancombe (7), and Alice da Silva Aguiar (9), and injured ten others, most of them being children.

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He was arrested at the scene, later pleaded guilty, and received a life sentence with a minimum of 52 years.

False claims that the attacker was a Muslim asylum seeker spread rapidly online, fuelling a wave of riots across the UK. One of the most violent incidents occurred in Middlesbrough on August 4, when a planned protest spiralled into destruction.

More than 1,000 people gathered as shopfronts were smashed, homes vandalised, and cars torched.

The documentary struck a chord with viewers, with many taking to social media to describe it as “devastating,” “urgent,” and “impossible to forget.”

One particularly heartbreaking scene saw the focus survivor of the attack break down in tears after she blamed herself for not being able to save the three little girls - one of whom was her little sister's best friend. The teenage survivor, only identified by her eyes, told the story from her memory as she detailed how she was stabbed both in the arm and in the back.

"I felt like I was dying," the survivor shared in the heartbreaking admission. She then broke down after confessing that she blames herself for not being able to save the girls - despite having been stabbed herself.

“I regret it every day that I wasn’t able to save her. That I wasn’t able to get her out," she sobbed.

Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, after watching the chilling stories of the victims unfold, viewers shared their heartbreak. "This poor girl has to live with this trauma for the rest of her life. It's so sad that she blames herself even in the slightest. Absolutely devastating."

"I am truly sick to my stomach watching this. How did this happen to such innocent little babies? Bawling my eyes out and thinking of their poor families," another viewer shared. Another echoed: "God, this is such a hard watch, but so important too."

Another Channel 4 viewer typed: "Those poor little girls must have been terrified. To think they had their whole lives ahead of them. Such a powerful documentary. Fair play to Channel 4."

"So heartbroken watching this. Tears streaming down to the ground omg," someone else shared. While another viewer voiced: "It just shows how unsafe the UK has become. Nobody is safe. Not even innocent little girls."

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