Two teachers have been praised for their heroism after locking children in a bathroom stall and rushing others out a fire exit during the deadly stabbing attack at a Taylor Swift-themed event in the UK — leaving one of them fighting for her life.
Leanne Lucas and colleague Heidi Barlow, both 35, sprang into action Monday to try to protect the kids attending their Swift-themed yoga and dance event in Southport, just outside Liverpool.
A knife-wielding teenager stormed the event, killing three young girls and injuring nine other kids and two adults.
Lucas had led some of the children, who were between the ages of 6 and 11, to safety through a fire escape while Barlow locked a group of kids inside a toilet stall to keep them safe, a man who lives near the yoga studio told the Sun.
“She was in the toilet, shut the door and locked it with one of the kids. The other got some kids to the fire exit,” he told the outlet.
Police said two adults were in critical condition after being injured during the incident, and they were attacked while “trying to protect the children,” the Guardian reported.
Lucas’ aunt, Pauline Bennett, said the yoga instructor and elementary school teacher is waiting to have surgery.
“She’s only tiny, she wouldn’t have stood a chance against a man with a knife, but she just wanted to protect those children,” Bennett told the Telegraph.
“Her sister stayed at her bedside all night and her parents are with her now. I’ve been told she’s due to have surgery today. We’re just hoping and praying that she’s going to be OK.”
Barlow’s condition is unclear.
Three young girls, ages 6, 7 and 9, were stabbed to death in the horrifying midday attack Monday, while eight other children were stabbed, including five in critical condition, Merseyside police said.
“We believe that the adults who were injured were bravely trying to protect the children who were being attacked,” Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said.
The attack broke out at the Hart Space, a yoga studio in Southport, during what was advertised as a “morning of Taylor Swift-themed yoga, dance and bracelet making.”
At least 25 children between the ages of 6 and 11 were at the event when the unidentified 17-year-old knifeman entered the building and unleashed mayhem.
Prayers for Lucas, who owns and founded Enlighten, the company that organized the Swift-themed event, quickly began popping up online soon after Monday’s attack.
“I’m absolutely devastated. Please please pray for Leanne,” Sunshine Yoga, another local studio, wrote on Facebook in a since-deleted post, according to the Sun.
“Leanne came on my training course in December. A beautiful young creative girl who was so passionate about helping children. I just can’t believe it. Please pray,” the studio added.
Police have said that, although the motive for the attack is unclear, it is not believed to be terror-related.
