Officers who confronted ‘coward’ Southport killer Axel Rudakubana win police bravery award
Three police officers, who have been voted Britain’s bravest officers, have described confronting, disarming and arresting the Southport killer Axel Rudakubana.
The trio, from the Merseyside force, were first on the scene as the crazed teenager rampaged with a knife through a children’s dance workshop last summer, murdering three youngsters and attacking others.
Southport wasn’t Sergeant Greg Gillespie’s beat and he was there that day covering for a colleague on holiday.
He described the scene outside the building on Hart Street as he arrived on his own.
He said: “There was maybe 20 or 25 adults, and all of them were looking at me, and all of them have this look of terror and fear, panic on their faces and I knew whatever it was we were turning up to was really, really bad.”
CCTV showed the moment Sergeant Greg Gillespie arrived, on his own, at the building where Rudakubana was. Pic: Merseyside Police
His colleagues PC Luke Holden, 31, and PCSO Tim Parry, 32, drove fast from Southport police station and were 30 seconds or so behind Sgt Gillespie.
PC Holden said: “I jumped out of the police car, and immediately there were people running up to me and one was an off-duty colleague who was screaming and crying, pointing ‘he’s in there, he’s there’ and then as I started to run to the building I could see blood all over the floor.
“As I got to the door, that was partially smashed. Greg was stood there one foot in, one foot out.
“There was a large puddle of blood on the floor outside the door and he just looked at me for one second and said, are you ready? And that was it, there was no conversation.
“There was nothing else going on. He said, ‘Are you ready’, and I said, ‘yeah, let’s go’.”
(L-R) PC Luke Holden, PCSO Tim Parry and Sergeant Greg Gillespie told Sky News about confronting Rudakubana
‘It was a horrific scene’
PCSO Parry, who doesn’t carry a baton or a pepper spray like his colleagues, went to the back of the building to stop people going, help anyone who needed it and get information on the number of suspects inside.
He said: “It was a horrific scene to really go into because I was so unprepared with the equipment I had.”
An additional problem for the three officers was the absence of firearms back-up; none of the force’s armed response units were close by.
Rudakubana arrived in a taxi in Southport before launching his attack. Pic: Merseyside Police
Inside the building was death, injury, fear and chaos.
PC Holden said: “Walking in, I identified the suspect with a bloodied knife in his hand at the top of the stairs, pointed my taser at him and thought this is going to go one of two ways.
“He’s gonna listen to us or he’s gonna fight with us and try and stab us.
“Me and Greg formed a solid wall with our shoulders, walking up the stairs so he couldn’t get past us.
“He was a couple of metres away, within striking distance, and I thought if he does anything to threaten me or any sort of movement I don’t like, he would be tasered immediately.”
Rudakubana was a ‘coward’
Sgt Gillespie, 42, said he’d read media reports suggesting Rudakubana had already decided to give himself up by the time police arrived.
He said: “I disagree with that. I saw him, made eye contact with him, saw his facial expression, saw his body language and the way he moved himself into a position at the top of the stairs, showing us he had a knife.
“He was fronting us, like he was saying ‘I’ve got a knife, what are you going to do about it?’ And I think the second he realised he was looking at two people who weren’t scared of him… all that bravery that he must have summoned up to attack defenceless children… he lost that straightaway and he threw down the knife.
“It’d be hard to paint him as more of a coward than he actually is, but I think that shows a lot. He was all brave to attack children, but the second he saw two men walking towards him, he didn’t want to know.”
Body-worn camera footage shows the moment Axel Rudakubana was arrested. Pic: Merseyside Police
But the officers had no idea if Rudakubana had more weapons, so they attacked him and knocked him to the ground.
PCSO Parry ended up on top of the suspect.
He said: “Through adrenaline I just kind of put him on his front to make sure he wasn’t going anywhere until other colleagues arrived.
“I was trying to alert anyone else hiding in the building that everything had, hopefully, now stopped and we would deal with them as best we could and make sure they were safe.”
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In January, Rudakubana, who was 17 at the time, admitted the murders of seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, Bebe King, six, and Alice da Silva Aguiar who was nine.
He also admitted the attempted murder of eight other children and two adults. He was jailed for life with a minimum of 52 years to serve.
(L-R) Alice da Silva Aguiar, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Bebe King were murdered in the attack
Bravery award is ‘bittersweet’
At his sentencing, the judge said that if he hadn’t been stopped he would have gone on to kill all 26 children at the dance class.
“By the time we got the call I think it was already too late to save two of the victims,” said Sgt Gillespie.
“But there was an adult, one of the dance teachers, who was shielding another child in the toilet, within arm’s distance from him and I don’t think he realised.
“If he had known they were there I’m sure he would have tried to attack them, so it’s a good job we got there when we did because we potentially saved them from being injured or killed.”
Pic: Merseyside Police Federation
Before winning last night’s accolade, PCSO Parry summed up the trio’s thoughts about their bravery award nomination.
He said: “It’s bittersweet. I feel proud being nominated, but it comes off the back of such a horrific incident.
“It’s hard to explain. It’s good to have the recognition from your peers and colleagues, but in my eyes it’s not like a celebration.”
70 officers from around England and Wales were nominated for the Police Federation national bravery awards.
Metropolitan Police is to stop investigating “non-crime hate incidents” to “reduce ambiguity” after prosecutors dropped a case against Graham Linehan.
Linehan, 57, will face no further action after being arrested over his social media posts about transgender people.
The Father Ted and IT Crowd creator said his lawyers had been told the case wouldn’t proceed. The Crown Prosecution Service confirmed the move.
Linehan, 57, was arrested on suspicion of inciting violence when he landed at Heathrow from his home in the US on 1 September.
The incident drew criticism of the police and government from some politicians and free-speech campaigners.
Met Police said today it would stop investigating “non-crime hate incidents” to “reduce ambiguity” and “provide clearer direction for officers”.
Posting on X, Linehan announced : “After a successful hearing to get my bail conditions lifted (one which the police officer in charge of the case didn’t even bother to attend) the Crown Prosecution Service has dropped the case.
“With the aid of the Free Speech Union, I still aim to hold the police accountable for what is only the latest attempt to silence and suppress gender critical voices on behalf of dangerous and disturbed men.”
The union said it had hired a “top flight team of lawyers to sue the Met for wrongful arrest, among other things”.
“The police need to be taught a lesson that they cannot allow themselves to be continually manipulated by woke activists,” it added.
A Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson confirmed it had reviewed the case file and decided “no further action” would be taken.
Linehan said he had to be taken to hospital on the day of his arrest. Pic: PA
In one of his posts, Linehan wrote: “If a trans-identified male is in a female-only space, he is committing a violent, abusive act. Make a scene, call the cops and if all else fails, punch him in the balls.”
Another was a photo of a trans-rights protest, with the comment “a photo you can smell”, and a follow-up post saying: “I hate them. Misogynists and homophobes. F*** em”.
A Met Police statement after the case was dropped acknowledged “concern” around Linehan’s arrest.
It added: “The commissioner has been clear he doesn’t believe officers should be policing toxic culture war debates, with current laws and rules on inciting violence online leaving them in an impossible position.
“As a result, the Met will no longer investigate non-crime hate incidents.
“We believe this will provide clearer direction for officers, reduce ambiguity and enable them to focus on matters that meet the threshold for criminal investigations.”
Linehan said on his blog that he was arrested by five armed officers and had to go to A&E after his blood pressure reached “stroke territory” during his interrogation.
Police said the officers’ guns were never drawn and were only present as Linehan was detained by the aviation unit, which routinely carries firearms.
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JK Rowling, who’s regularly shared her views on women’s rights in relation to transgender rights, was among those who had criticised the arrest, calling it “utterly deplorable”.
Reform’s Nigel Farage, shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick, and ex-foreign secretary Sir James Cleverly also hit out at the treatment of Linehan.
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The son of former England footballer Stuart Pearce has died in a crash, his family has said.
Harley Pearce, from Marlborough in Wiltshire, was driving a tractor near Witcombe, Gloucestershire, on Thursday, when he was involved in a collision, police said.
The 21-year-old farming worker died at the scene, on the A417 Old Birdlip Hill in Witcombe, around five miles from Gloucester.
No other vehicles were involved, Gloucestershire Constabulary said. Emergency services were called to the scene of the incident at about 2.30pm on October 16.
Stuart Pearce at last year’s FA Cup Final at Wembley. Pic: PA
Harley Pearce was 21 and worked in farming, according to reports.
‘Our shining star’
In a tribute posted on Facebook, Harley sister, Chelsea Pearce, said the family was “truly shocked and utterly heartbroken at the loss of our cherished son and devoted brother, Harley”.
He was, the family said, was a soul “who left an unforgettable imprint on all who knew him”.
“He was a golden boy with an infectious smile, and this shocking tragedy will leave a huge hole in the hearts of those who were fortunate enough to have known him.”
He had “a quiet, understated strength and deep kindness”.
The family said they were “so proud of the young man he had become, exhibiting a wonderful work ethic and entrepreneurial spirit in the farming industry.
“He will always be our shining star. Rest in Peace, our beautiful son and brother. You will never, ever be forgotten.”
What have police said?
Harley ran his own company, Harley Pearce Agricultural Service, talkSPORT said.
Gloucestershire Constabulary said on Thursday: “The driver of the tractor, a man in his 20s and from Wiltshire, was pronounced dead at the scene.
“His next of kin are aware and being supported by specially trained officers.”
The force is appealing for any witnesses or anyone with dashcam footage to contact them.
‘Tragic news’
Harley’s father, Stuart Pearce, played 78 times for England and was part of the Three Lions squads which reached the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup and Euro 96, the FA said on its website.
He was later the head coach of the England Under-21s.
During a long club career, he made more than 400 appearances for Nottingham Forest, many of them as captain, during a 12-year spell at the City Ground.
He later managed the club, as well as another former club, Manchester City.
Pearce currently works as a pundit on talkSPORT, which said on its website that Harley and Chelsea were the two children he had with his ex-wife Liz.
Presenter Jim White said during a broadcast on Monday that “everybody here on this show and at talkSPORT sends our heartfelt condolences to the family of Stuart Pearce after that tragic news we’ve just heard”.
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Several of the clubs he played for posted tributes on X, including Forest, who said they were “deeply saddened”.
The club said: “The thoughts of everyone connected with Nottingham Forest are with Stuart and his family at this truly difficult time.”
West Ham United said: “We are saddened to hear of Harley Pearce’s passing.
“Everyone at the Club sends their deepest condolences to Stuart and his family at this tragic time.”
Manchester City said: “Everyone at Manchester City sends their love and thoughts to Stuart and his family at this very difficult time.”
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