Witness Joel recounts facing Axel Rudakubana during Southport attack. He helped victims until police arrived.
Joel, age 26, worked with a friend named Marcin. They cleaned windows last July. The day was very hot. They paused for a coffee break and drove with music playing.
Marcin spotted something unusual. A yoga teacher leaned on a car. Leanne Lucas had a bad shoulder wound. Rudakubana was inside the studio where twenty-six kids were dancing; they were between 6 and 11 years old.
Joel rushed to help Leanne. She yelled about kids being stabbed inside. Joel saw her shoulder wound and realized it was serious. Leanne was on the phone with police. She collapsed on the floor, and Joel told police she was hurt badly.
A woman honked her car horn. Her daughter was in the front seat, and four or five girls were in the back. The woman needed help for one girl. Joel picked up the injured girl and ran, shouting for help.
Marcin gave CPR to a girl; he learned her name was Alice later. She sadly died that day. Joel then checked the studio for more victims. He suddenly saw Rudakubana.
Joel said Rudakubana looked at him. The attacker was on a landing, and Joel stood on the stairs, frozen. Rudakubana had a kitchen knife. Joel didn’t know what to do.
Joel broke a glass door using a bin. He stopped Rudakubana from locking it shut. Then, Joel looked for a weapon in a garage.
CCTV showed Joel with others going to the door. A police car arrived then. Joel told the officer what occurred. They waited for a taser.
Once ready, Joel rescued Bebe. He ran with her towards the road. He shouted for assistance loudly. Soon, paramedics and firefighters arrived.
Joel stayed with Bebe. He gave her first aid as police told him what to do. Bebe King, Elsie Stancombe, and Alice Aguiar died from the stabbings that occurred on July 29.
The attacker got 52 years minimum. A judge called it extreme and shocking, stating it was a very serious crime.