Chapter 4: The attack

Introduction

¶1. The Terms of Reference require the Inquiry to:

¶“Establish a definitive account of the events leading up to the Southport attack and the attack itself, … The account of the attack will include the facts and circumstances of each individual death to reflect the purposes of section 5(1) of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.”

¶This chapter deals with the day of the attack itself, the dance and yoga event which AR targeted, and the immediate response of the emergency services.

¶2. Merseyside Police conducted an extremely thorough investigation following AR’s attack. Thirty-seven officers assisted in supporting the victims and their families, a task in which they were assisted by their neighbouring forces. They spoke to 547 witnesses and took 405 statements, 17 of which were by way of Achieving Best Evidence videos. They made 78 safeguarding referrals. They reviewed extensive CCTV material and sifted through some 159,000 electronic messages, the majority of which were in Kinyarwandan. They reviewed 164,000 documents and 1,244 exhibits.⁷⁵⁷⁵ T/S: 11/39/15-40/19. This was an exceptionally thorough piece of police work, for which Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) Pye, as the Senior Investigating Officer, and his team deserve considerable praise.

¶3. The investigating officers disclosed to the Inquiry 48 statements from members of the public, 40 statements from 32 paramedics and hospital clinicians, the statements of 58 police officers and 12 statements from seven expert witnesses.

¶4. To add to that significant body of evidence, the Inquiry has obtained a further 32 statements relevant to the attack and its immediate aftermath. We have investigated in detail the response by the emergency services and the relevant arrangements at the Hart Space.

¶5. Given the painstaking way in which this material has been collected and analysed, the precise history of this rapidly unfolding event, together with its immediate aftermath, is very largely undisputed. Accordingly, there has been no need for the Inquiry to spend time considering every detail of AR’s attack in the Hart Space. Indeed, it would have been inappropriate to do so. That would have involved hearing voluminous evidence that would have been highly likely to re-traumatise the victims, their families and a considerable number of others affected by this terrible event, including the members of the public who intervened to assist and the first responders from the emergency services.

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¶6. Instead, the Inquiry sought to address the evidence of the attack itself in a trauma-informed way. I called Detective Chief Inspector Pye to give evidence and draw out in public as much information about the attack as the public interest required, while avoiding – so far as practicable – the fine detail and imagery of the day which would have been most distressing to the victims.

¶7. This chapter adopts a similar approach. It contains the information I consider necessary to fulfil the requirement for a definitive account of the attack itself, but I avoid unnecessary detail of the most immediate events of the stabbings themselves, which would serve no useful purpose.