A dance teacher injured in the Southport attack has posted photos on social media of her meeting Taylor Swift as well as the Prince and Princess of Wales.
Leanne Lucas was overseeing a Swift-themed dance class on July 29 last year when Axel Rudakubana entered the building and began attacking children and adults.
Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, died – and he also attempted to murder Ms Lucas, a businessman and eight other children.
Ms Lucas, 36, survived the horrific attack but suffered serious stab wounds while trying to protect two girls and has spoken of living in constant fear ever since.
She posted a series of photos on Facebook in a ‘My 2024 memories’ reel, including pictures with Swift which were taken backstage at an Eras tour show in Toronto.
Ms Lucas also published photos of her hugging Prince William and Kate during a private meeting when the royal couple visited Southport on October 10 last year.
Speaking about the attack, she told Liverpool Crown Court last month that she could not feel safe at work or in public places and cannot give herself compassion or accept praise, adding: ‘How can I live knowing I survived when children died?’
She said the attack left her unable to trust society, revealing the ‘badness’ lurking in plain sight and altering her mindset to believe harm can happen to anyone.
Southport dance teacher Leanne Lucas posted an image of her meeting Taylor Swift in Toronto
The Princess of Wales gives Leanne Lucas a hug while meeting her in Southport last October
Leanne Lucas (second left) posed for a photo with William and Kate in Southport last October
Prince William also gave Leanne Lucas a hug while meeting her in Southport
Leanne Lucas also posted this second image of her meeting Taylor Swift
Ms Lucas told the court that she dedicated her life to helping children and families, creating a safe community, but the attack robbed her of her role, purpose and sense of trust in herself.
She said: ‘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.’
Ms Lucas described the trauma of being both a victim and a witness as ‘horrendous’ but said she is ‘surviving’ for the victims, telling the court ‘to discover that he had always set out to hurt the vulnerable is beyond comprehensible’.
In November, Ms Lucas spoke publicly for the first time since the killings during a candlelit vigil to remember women and girls who have lost their lives to male violence.
She told LBC radio that the attack left her and her community feeling ‘very unsafe’, but she hopes the girls’ memories can prompt change so a similar incident cannot happen again.
Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, was one of the three children killed in the knife attack in Southport
Bebe King, six, was also killed in the knife attack at The Hart Space in Southport last July
Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, was among the three little girls killed in the attack in Southport
Ms Lucas said: ‘My purpose was creating wellbeing events for children and families, and for that to happen where I was, and for the words I spoke and the children spoke, for that to be trampled over has just really dampened all of our spirits, feeling unsafe, feeling like we just lost faith in the world really.
‘I’m not too sure how we’ll ever move on, apart from use the girl’s memories as a driving force to change things for other people in the future, so this doesn’t have to happen to them again.’
Ms Lucas, for whom more than £41,000 was raised to support her recovery after the attack, added there had been ‘glimmers’ amid the horror.
‘I try to resemble it as us being connected by an invisible piece of string. We’re all connected in the most horrible way.
‘Sometimes that string will fray and tangle and knot, but at the best of times, it will wrap together and it’s brought a lot of us closer, creating kindness and warmth, and it’s created a strong force that almost we couldn’t have imagined would be possible out of something so horrific.
Police investigate on Hart Street in Southport on July 29 after the attacks at the dance class
Taylor Swift performs at an Eras tour gig at Rogers Centre in Toronto on November 14, 2024
‘There has been a lot of love come from Southport, a lot of love come from all over the world. To be honest, the impact has been tragic, but there has been some glimmers, at times.’
She added: ‘Hopefully people will be hearing a lot more from me in the future, after everything’s happened and things are finished, I’m hoping my voice will get louder and louder and people will join me in that.’
Her cousin Chris Rimmer told BBC News in the days after the attack that Ms Lucas is a ‘hero’ who had ‘shielded two girls’ – adding that the family was ‘torn apart’ by the incident.
Rudakubana, 18, was sentenced on January 23 to life with a minimum term of 52 years after pleading guilty to murdering Alice, Bebe and Elsie.
He also admitted attempting to murder eight other children and two adults, possession of a knife, production of a biological toxin – ricin – and possessing information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism.