Hundreds of mourners have lined the streets to remember nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar, who was one of three little girls stabbed to death at a dance class in Southport.
Alice was killed alongside Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, when a knifeman entered the Taylor Swift-themed event on Hart Street on July 29 and carried out a terrifying stabbing spree. Ten others were seriously injured.
Photos from today show hundreds of devastated mourners arriving outside St Patrick’s Church in Southport for the funeral of Alice — described as a ‘princess’ by her heartbroken family.
The little girl’s parents Sergio and Alexandra have been joined by hundreds of family members and friends at the packed-out church.
Among those who also gathered to pay their respects were Serena Kennedy, Chief Constable of Merseyside Police, alongside uniformed officers from the police, ambulance and fire services.
The grieving crowd could be seen carrying flowers and pink balloons and were dressed in light colours.
A white coffin decorated with pink roses was carried into the church for the funeral which began at 2pm. Pink ribbons and balloons were tied to lampposts and garden walls.
A beautiful pink and white, horse-drawn carriage carried Alice’s coffin to the church. Pink ribbons and balloons were tied to lampposts and garden walls.
Members of the public lined Marshside Road as the funeral cortege arrived, along with about 30 uniformed police officers.
Applause broke out as the carriage containing the coffin approached the church entrance.
Several hundred people gathered in the church while more listened outside as the service was relayed on loudspeakers.
The stabbing suspect is Axel Rudakubana, who turned 18 this month, and who was born to Rwandan parents in Cardiff in 2006 before moving to the village of Banks in Lancashire in 2013.
Alice’s aunt, Albertina Freitas, told ITV News in Madeira, Portugal, that the little girl’s father has been left paralysed by his grief.
‘We are not going through it directly, but we can imagine the pain my brother is experiencing. It is an immense pain.’
Talking about her sister, Ms Freitas added: ‘She doesn’t speak at all.’
She said: ‘My brother-in-law is in such a state that he can’t even talk to the family. We try to talk to him but he doesn’t want to. He just clings to the girl’s things.’
Liverpool players observed a minute’s silence before their pre-season friendly match against Sevilla at Anfield stadium today, in memory of Alice, Bebe and Elsie.
Players could be seen linking arms as they dropped their heads to remember the victims, while the coaches and substitutes did the same.
Fans in the stadium also joined in with the minute silence.
In recent days, violent riots have exploded across several cities including Manchester, Liverpool, Plymouth and Birmingham following the Southport knife rampage which claimed the lives of the three girls.
False speculation online that the teenage suspect was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK on a boat has fuelled the unrest which started outside a mosque in Southport and has since spread across the UK.
The misinformation is believed to have originated from a Russian-linked fake news website.
Right-wing groups have organised dozens of protests from Liverpool to Hull and Middlesbrough to Plymouth – with many filled with anti-immigrant rhetoric.
Riots have seen hotels housing migrants set on fire and police attacked with bricks or glass bottles.
The Prime Minister told Cabinet that ‘people across the country want their streets to be safe and to feel safe in their communities, and we will take all necessary action to bring the disorder to an end’.