The first three police responders to the Southport stabbing horror have spoken one year on – with all three heroes still shaken by what they saw on that terrible day. Sgt Greg Gillespie, PC Luke Holden and PCSO Timothy Parry were the first three Merseyside Police officers who attended Axel Rudakubana’s bloody attack at a Taylor Swift-themed workshop on 29th July 2024.
All three have been awarded 2025 bravery awards by the Police Federation for storming the building and confronting knife-wielding Rudakubana and shielding paramedics as they tried to save the kids. But they have all admitted the tragedy has changed them. “It affects you in ways that you don’t imagine,” PC Holden said. Sgt Gillespie said it was “the toughest experience of my life, never mind my career”.
While PCSO Parry said it was “quite difficult” to do activities with his own child. Alice Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were killed in the attack, while eight other children and two adults were seriously wounded.
Called to reports of a stabbing at a dance studio in Southport a year ago, Sgt Greg Gillespie arrived to an unfolding scene of horror.
He said: “The only thing any of us knew when we turned up was that there was a child on the floor on Hart Street who had been stabbed and the offender was in the building.
“I remember people in the road waving me down. I just could see the look of fear and terror in the faces of the people there and then getting out of the car and hearing them screaming and shouting.”
Sgt Gillespie said he saw a little girl, whom he thought was dead. She managed to survive, despite being stabbed more than 30 times.
“I don’t think there’s any amount of training or experience that can quite prepare you to deal with something like that or to process it,” he added.
PC Luke Holden, who arrived shortly after with PCSO Timothy Parry, said he remembered hearing Sgt Gillespie’s words on his radio.
“The way he spoke, confirming the address and the scene he faced… I could just hear sort of terror in Greg’s voice,” he said.
Sgt Gillespie said he decided they had to deal with whatever was happening in the building without back-up, adding: “We just knew the right thing was that we couldn’t wait for armed response back-up
“We didn’t know where they were [but] it was that urgent. Everyone now knows the sequence of events that occurred that day – that wasn’t known to us at the time.”
He said all they knew was that a child had been stabbed and “the offender was in the building”.
PC Holden vividly remembers what happened next. “Greg looked at me and said ‘are you ready?'”
He said he replied with a simple “yeah” and then the pair barged “shoulder to shoulder” into the building.
Almost immediately, they were face-to-face with 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana who in January at Liverpool Crown Court was later jailed for a minimum of 52 years for the killings.
Sgt Gillespie explained: “He was showing us the knife, holding it out in front of us, blood-stained. It was almost like he was saying, ‘I’ve got a knife, what are you going to do?'”
The officer said the youth’s attitude seemed to change, as if when he saw that the officers “weren’t scared of him, he didn’t want to know”.
“It would be quite hard to paint him as more of a coward than he already is, but I think that says a lot for me,” Sgt Gillespie added.
But the three officers – who have all been recognised at the Police Federation of England and Wales 2025 bravery awards for their actions on the day – said they are still scarred by the horrors of the day.
PC Holden said: “It affects you in ways that you don’t imagine. My hyper-vigilance increased 1,000% and I was wary of everyone in every situation. You start thinking worst case of every situation you deal with.
“I think about the job every single day since it happened. I think about all the victims and the victims’ families.”
PCSO Parry said it was “quite difficult” to return to normal life, adding that trying to do activities with his own child, and seeing others of a similar age to the victims, had been “hard for me for quite some time”.
“Obviously, it’s nothing compared to what the families involved had to go through and things, but it was a bit of a challenge.”
PCSO Parry said he made the decision to enter the building as “I needed to be in there to help my colleagues and anybody else who was potentially in there”.
Sgt Gillespie said the events of 29 July last year had been “the toughest experience of my life, never mind my career”.
But, he added, compared with the families of the children killed and injured, “our pain and suffering is the tiniest drop in the largest ocean compared to theirs”.
He said: “It was a very, very tough day and anyone who was there has probably spent the last 12 months trying and failing to process it and to comprehend what we bore witness to.
“I think the memories of that will stay with everyone for the rest of our lives.”
Yet Sgt Gillespie said he had been heartened by the response that Southport residents have united together, determined not to let the atrocity define their home.
“The community has come together mostly as a result of the actions of the parents of the victims who’ve been nothing short of inspirational,” he said.
“As a father, the thought of something like that happening to a child and then having to get up the next morning and try to proceed with your life is unfathomable.
“But the three sets of parents have not only done that… they’ve continued the legacy of their daughters’ names and they brought the community together.
“Everyone’s come together and been so supportive of each other and Merseyside Police.”
Police Federation of England and Wales national chairwoman Tiff Lynch said of all three winners: “Whether confronting violent attackers, rescuing individuals from life-threatening situations, or making split-second decisions under immense pressure, these officers have shown exceptional courage and selflessness”.