The coffin of Southport stabbing victim Elsie Dot Stancombe leaves at the end of the funeral at the St John's Church, in Birkdale, near Southport, north western England, on August 23, 2024. - Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7 years old, was among the three girls murdered during the July 29 knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party that also left another 10 people injured. (Photo by PETER POWELL / AFP)
Tearful friends and relatives held a funeral service Friday for Elsie Dot Stancombe, a seven-year-old killed alongside two other girls in a stabbing in northwest England that sparked riots across the country.
Her coffin, covered in a pastel-coloured pall and with a blue stuffed toy laid on top, was carried down a pink carpet, as mourners lined the street outside the church in the seaside town of Southport.
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Friends and family also wore colourful pastel and floral clothes after her family said they wanted to celebrate “Elsie’s Special Day”.
“Elsie spent every day just simply enjoying life with determination, persistence, love and kindness,” the family said in a statement ahead of the funeral.
Elsie was killed alongside Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, and Bebe King, six, in a stabbing attack at a Taylor Swift-themed summer dance class on July 29, which also left 10 other people, eight of them children, injured.
Members of Elsie’s cheerleading group stood at the entrance of the church, wiping away tears as the coffin went past them.
In a tribute during the service, teacher Katie Sykes said Elsie had the ability to light up any room she entered, according to PA news agency.
“She made everybody smile just by being her,” she added.
King Charles III visited Southport on Tuesday for the first time since the tragedy shook the country on July 29, meeting survivors and their families.
He also met with the three bereaved families in London on Wednesday.
Unrest and riots erupted in more than a dozen English towns and cities in the week that followed the events in Southport, with authorities blaming misinformation over the identity of the alleged attacker.
Axel Rudakubana, who was aged 17 at the time, has been charged with murder and attempted murder over the stabbing spree.
© Agence France-Presse
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