Mourners collect to recollect Alice, 9, stabbed to demise in Southport
Hundreds of mourners have lined the streets to remember nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar, who was one of three little girls stabbed to death at a dance class in Southport.
Alice was killed alongside Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, when a knifeman entered the Taylor Swift-themed event on Hart Street on July 29. Ten others were seriously injured.
The suspect is Axel Rudakubana, who turned 18 this month, and who was born to Rwandan parents in Cardiff in 2006 before moving to the village of Banks in Lancashire in 2013.
Photographs from today show hundreds of devastated mourners arriving outside St Patrick’s Church in Southport for Alice’s funeral.
The grieving crowd can be seen carrying flowers and pink balloons and are predominantly dressed in light colours.
A beautiful pink and white, horse-drawn carriage carried Alice’s coffin to the church surrounded by those lining the streets to pay their respects.
Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, (pictured) was one of three little girls to be stabbed to death by a knifeman at a Taylor Swift themed dance class on July 29
People dressed in light colours for nine-year-old Alice’s funeral today
A horse-drawn carriage carrying the coffin of nine-year-old Alice Da Silva Aguiar
Alice’s coffin was decorated with pink roses for her funeral today
The coffin of nine-year-old Alice Da Silva Aguiar is carried into her funeral
The horse-drawn carriage carrying the coffin of Southport stabbing victim Alice
A horse and carriage carrying the coffin of nine-year-old Alice
Mourners attending the funeral of Southport stabbing victim Alice da Silva Aguiar
The grieving crowd can be seen carrying flowers and are predominantly dressed in light colours
A beautiful pink and white, horse-drawn carriage carried Alice’s coffin to the church surrounded by those lining the streets to pay their respects
A paramedic carries flowers, ahead of the funeral of Southport stabbing victim Alice
Pall bearers carry the coffin for the funeral of Southport stabbing victim Alice da Silva Aguiar
Mourners hold hands as the funeral cortege arrives for the funeral today
St Patrick’s Church, Southport, today ahead of the funeral of Southport stabbing victim Alice, nine
Police officers outside St Patrick’s Church, Southport, ahead of the funeral of stabbing victim Alice
Police officers outside St Patrick’s Church ahead of nine-year-old Alice’s funeral today
A paramedic carries flowers, ahead of the funeral of Southport stabbing victim Alice
Chief Constable Serena Kennedy outside St Patrick’s Church ahead of the funeral of Alice
Paramedics outside St Patrick’s Church ahead of the funeral of nine-year-old Alice
Police officers secure the area for the devastating funeral today
A heavy police presence outside the church can also be seen as officers strive to keep the local community safe.
Alice’s aunt, Albertina Freitas, told ITV News in Madeira, Portugal, that the little girl’s father has been left paralysed by his grief.
‘We are not going through it directly, but we can imagine the pain my brother is experiencing. It is an immense pain.’
Talking about her sister, Ms Freitas added: ‘She doesn’t speak at all.’
She said: ‘My brother-in-law is in such a state that he can’t even talk to the family. We try to talk to him but he doesn’t want to. He just clings to the girl’s things.
In recent days, violent riots have exploded across several cities including Manchester, Liverpool, Plymouth and Birmingham following the Southport knife rampage which claimed the lives of the three girls.
False speculation online that the teenage suspect was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK on a boat has fuelled the unrest which started outside a mosque in Southport and has since spread across the UK.
The misinformation is believed to have originated from a Russian-linked fake news website.
Right-wing groups have organised dozens of protests from Liverpool to Hull and Middlesbrough to Plymouth – with many filled with anti-immigrant rhetoric. Riots have seen hotels housing migrants set on fire and police attacked with bricks or glass bottles.
