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This is the moment a Sky News reporter broke down in tears while reading out the ‘distressing’ details of the Southport attacks.
Sarah Jane Mee had to ‘take a breath’ while live on air as she read out the details of the attacks carried out by Axel Rudakubana at a Taylor Swift dance class in The Hart Space in July.
Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were all stabbed to death, while 10 others were also seriously injured.
Mee was interviewing Liverpool Muslim Council chief executive Tawhid Islam when she revealed how ‘distressing’ the details were.
She told viewers: ‘Bear with me because we’ve got a liveblog up and running, SkyNews.com, we’re not allowed inside the courtroom with cameras until sentencing so my colleagues are inside giving us the detail of what’s happening.
‘I’ve just got to warn you what I’m about to relay to you is really distressing, as you would expect from this case. This is the prosecutor Deanna Heer KC who’s continuing to describe the attack back in July.
‘She says businessman Jonathan Hayes who was an office building in The Hart Space approached Rudakubana who swiped with a knife as he tried to grab hold of the weapon. Hayes was stabbed in the leg and fell to the ground, shouting for help.
Axel Rudakubana is being sentenced today (Picture: Merseyside Police/PA Wire)
‘The court goes onto hear that window cleaners who were driving past saw the class instructor Leanne Lucas covered in blood, shouting “someone’s stabbing the kids”.
‘One went into the building but retreated when he saw Rudakubana at the top of the stairs holding a knife. At the top of the stairs they found the attacker standing over the body of Bebe King, holding a kitchen knife.
‘One of the window cleaners picked her up and carried her out of the building, screaming at the extent of her injuries. The court hears that police arrived at the scene to find people in a state of panic.’
Mee then began to tear up off camera as she said: ‘Ah, just take a breath after that.’
There was then a pause as she composed herself, and she continued: ‘Right, erm Tarwin, sorry, it’s just so distressing isn’t it.’
He agreed: ‘It really is.’
Mee then continued: ‘Look, we’re here for those girls and the families, so try not to get upset because it’s such an important day for them and this is horror that came to their door.’
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