One of three young English stabbing victims memorialized with Mass at Catholic parish

CNA Staff, Aug 7, 2024 / 15:08 pm

One of the three children murdered in a stabbing attack in Southport, England, late last month was remembered at her local Catholic parish with a memorial service and Mass on Aug. 6. 

Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, was remembered as “the most beautiful, strongest girl in the world” during the service at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, the Catholic Herald reported. 

According to a flyer for the event posted on social media, Dasilva Aguiar received her first Communion at the parish in May. Her funeral is scheduled for Aug. 11. 

Three children — 6-year-old Bebe King, 7-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and Dasilva Aguiar — died in the July 29 stabbing attack, which occurred at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in the northwestern English town. 

Another eight children who attended the dance class suffered stab wounds, according to police. Two adults who were injured remained in critical condition before being later discharged.

Police have named the suspect as Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, who was 17 when the stabbings happened and has since turned 18. Rudakubana was born in Cardiff in the United Kingdom and his parents are immigrants from Rwanda, a predominantly Christian country in central Africa.

The stabbings have sparked violent anti-immigrant riots across the U.K. Hundreds of people have been arrested and so far three men have been jailed for their role in unrest, the BBC reported.

Reports have emerged of protestors attacking and damaging hotels housing asylum seekers, including a Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, on Sunday night.

About 240 asylum seekers who had been staying at the hotel were moved overnight after clashes between police and a crowd of hundreds of people, the BBC reported.

Police sources told the BBC that they are preparing for more than “100 possible” rioting events today, with key targets expected to be immigration centers.