Southport cops who stopped Taylor Swift dance class killer awarded for bravery

Three police officers who faced “terror and fear” before stopping Axel Rudakubana's killing spree in Southport have been honoured as the bravest in the country.

Sergeant Gregory Gillespie, Constable Luke Holden and police community support officer (PCSO) Timothy Parry were the first officers to arrive at the scene of “unimaginable horror” last summer.

Armed with just a baton and a taser, they confronted Axel Rudakubana, then 17, at the top of the stairs holding a large blood-soaked knife after he’d rampaged through the Taylor Swift-themed holiday dance class.

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Rudakubana had murdered Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine; Bebe King, six; and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven; and injured 10 others, including eight children.

At his trial the Judge said the officer's “brave” actions stopped the crazed knifeman in his tracks before he could kill or injure more.

The Merseyside Police officers were the "overall winners" of the Police Federation of England and Wales' (PFEW) 2025 bravery awards held on Thursday, the 30th ever held.

On the eve of the national police bravery awards, before they were announced as winners, they spoke for the first time about the “terror” they witnessed. The news comes after a public inquirybegan into the murders this week.

The three had been on duty when the call came over the radio at midday on July 29th 2024, requesting for officers to ‘attend immediately’ at Hart Street, Southport where a male was attacking children with a knife.

PS Gillespie was alone, as he had been dealing with a separate case elsewhere and made his way to the incident. PC Holden and PCSO Parry were at the station and headed over to the incident together 30 seconds behind their colleague.

Sgt Gillespie was the first to arrive and described the "chaos", with "extremely panicked" people in the street. The public were arming themselves with makeshift weapons, others were running away from the dance studio carrying young children. He saw a seriously injured child and shared this on his radio, requesting further patrols to head to his exact location 'urgently'. He directed a paramedic to help the child.

The officer told Sky News: "There was maybe 20 or 25 adults and all of them were looking at me, 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."

PC Holden said he saw "a large puddle of blood on the floor outside the door" and said Sgt Gillespie "just looked at me" and asked if he was ready.

"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'."

PCSO Parry, who doesn't carry a baton or pepper spray like his colleagues, went to the back of the building to stop people from entering, 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."

As Sgt Gillespie made his way to the immediate location, joined by Pc Holden and PCSO Parry, they found the glass-panelled door to the premises had been smashed. PS Gillespie drew his baton and PC Holden drew his Taser before entering whilst unarmed PCSO Parry covered the exit.

Once at the top of the stairs the officers were faced with Rudakubana, who was holding a large bloodied knife in his hand.

PC Holden said: “I identified the suspect at the stop of the stairs, bloodied knife in his hand. So I thought; 'hmmm, this is going to go two ways; he is going to listen to us or he’s going to fight with us and try and stab us'.

“So me and Greg formed a solid wall with our shoulders walking up the stairs so he couldn't get past us.

Sgt Gillespie said: "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?'

As they continued to approach him, they passed another seriously injured child and shouted at him to drop the knife as PCSO Parry also ran in to help.

PC Gillespie added: “I think the second he realised he was looking at two people who weren't scared of him, who were going to attack him, all that bravery that he must have summoned up to attack defenceless children, he lost that straightaway, and he threw down the knife."

The unarmed PCSO Parry said; “I ran in for the safety of my fellow officers just to make sure they were okay, just going off pure adrenaline really.”

The killer was handcuffed and arrested after the trio struck with a baton and kicked the teenager to get him under control.

The officers then continued to instruct other present members of the public to assist with first aid before continuing to search the premises for injured persons or other suspects.

In the room behind where the suspect was detained a further seriously injured young child was found, and in a separate room the officers located a young girl and adult female who had been hiding from the suspect.

In another room a further group of males were located hiding, all shaking with fear and one with a stab wound to his leg, who were guided out by the officers.

By this time, more officers and paramedics had arrived at the location to assist those who had been injured.

The attacker was sentenced to life in January this year, with a minimum of 52 years for what was described as a “pre-meditated attempt to commit indiscriminate mass murder”.

Mr Justice Goose, in sentencing, stated: “In his mind was an intention to murder as many of them as he possibly could. He wanted to carry out mass murder on innocent, happy young girls.”

Merseyside Police Federation Chair Chris McGlade said: “Police officers join the service to keep our communities safe and prevent them from harm. In the face of the most challenging and perilous of circumstances, these three officers exemplified this commitment.

“Without hesitation, they prioritised public safety and demonstrated the highest levels of bravery. Their professionalism was unparalleled, and it is fitting that we acknowledge and honour their actions accordingly.”

Chief Constable Serena Kennedy KPM said: “Sergeant Greggory Gillespie, Constable Luke Holden and PCSO Timothy Parry were faced with unimaginable horror when they entered Hart Street on that tragic day.

“As first on the scene and in those frantic initial moments, they were unaware of the horrific events taking place but they dismissed any thoughts for their own safety, bravely detaining the offender while protecting and helping the victims and those inside.

“We are all immensely proud of PS Gillespie, PC Holden and PCSO Parry for their courage, professionalism and swift actions in such horrendous circumstances. For the officers to be recognised in this way is true testament to them all.

“Our thoughts remain with the victims, their families, those who suffered serious injuries and all those involved in the appalling attack.

“I would like to express my thanks to all our officers and staff who were involved in the terrible events of July 29 and worked tirelessly over the months that followed, during what was the most harrowing situation that Merseyside Police has ever had to deal with.”