UK Yoga Teacher Stabbed While Trying To Protect Children During Knife Attack Hailed As 'Hero'

Leanne Lucas, 35, was likely attacked as she 'shielded two girls' from the attacker, her cousin told BBC. She is believed to have organised the Taylor Swift-themed event where the attack took place.

Rimmer referred to her cousin, Leanne Lucas, as a “star”.

Source : Instagram / Leanne Lucas

A yoga teacher has been hailed as a hero after being stabbed while trying to protect two girls during the knife attack in Southport, northern England, earlier this week. The attack occurred during a Taylor Swift-theme dance class that the teacher, Leanne Lucas, is believed to have organised. It resulted in the death of three children. 

Lucas’s cousin Chris Rimmer said she is still in hospital, but has regained consciousness and spoken for the first time since the attack. Lucas, who was initially in a critical condition, is recovering now but is “not out of the woods yet”, BBC quoted Rimmer as saying.

Rimmer said Lucas, 35, ushered the children into a storage room and “shielded two little girls” from the attacker, and was likely attacked as she did so. Rimmer referred to her cousin as a “star”. “She always gives, and never expects anything from anybody," he was quoted as saying by BBC.

Rimmer, 41, said the family had been “torn apart” by the incident. He said Lucas's mum, dad and sister were staying by her bedside at the hospital. He said her family did not want to disclose too many details about Lucas’s recovery, but wanted to keep her and the other victims of the attack at the forefront of people’s minds.

The three victims of the knife attack were aged 6-9 years. Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, died on Tuesday in hospital, while Bebe King, 6, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, died on Monday during the attack. The suspect has been identified as a 17-year-old, with police releasing no details other than the fact that he was from Wales. He was arrested on Monday on suspicion of murder and attempted murder and remains in custody. The attack is not being treated as terror-related.

Eight children and one other adult — Jonathan Hayes — were also injured in the attack, with several in critical condition. Hayes told BBC he was "saddened" he could not have done more to protect the children from the attack.

Since the attack, BBC reported, Taylor Swift fans have raised £310,000 for the victims and their families. The group collaborated with Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, and had initially aimed to raise £13,000.

The attack triggered violent protests in England, with four people arrested since for creating disorder. Police said 53 officers had been injured and a mosque damaged in the clashes.