England footie star donates £10k to GoFundMe appeal for Southport stabbing victims as fundraiser hits major milestone
ENGLAND footie star Anthony Gordon has donated £10,000 to the victims of the mass stabbing in Southport.
The 23-year-old footballer, who was born on Merseyside, has pledged the sum to the GoFundMe account set up by the dance community in response to the tragedy in which three girls were killed.
The horror attack saw Alice Da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, fatally stabbed.
Gordon’s donation is currently the highest received by the Southport Dance Group Emergency Fund, with almost £50,000 raised in total as of tonight, at the time of writing.
The fundraiser is separate to the £323,000 raised by two members of the Taylor Swift UK and EU Facebook Group, in partnership with Alder Hey Children’s Charity.
Gordon, the Newcastle forward and former Everton star, has made four appearances for England.
The Three Lions star featured once one during their run to the final of Euro 2024.
If you would like to donate to the GoFundMe click the link here.
On Tuesday, mourners gathered at a vigil to pay tribute to three young girls killed in the Southport stabbing attack.
Bebe, Elsie, and Alice had been at a Taylor Swift-themed “yoga and dance” holiday club when the chaos unfolded.
The fully booked club for children quickly became something “like a horror movie”, witnesses to the deadly stabbings have said.
Hundreds rallied together in solidarity outside The Aktinson art gallery in Merseyside to pay their respects after the knife rampage.
Large crowds joined in a minute of silence to pay tribute to the three youngsters.
Some lit candles while others lay flowers and reflected on yesterday’s tragedy.
The mayor of Sefton, June Burns, told the vigil that the scale of the tragedy “hit her” when she laid flowers at the scene thinking about how the children involved were at a Taylor Swift dance class.
“It really gets you, you can’t help but cry because of the outpouring of grief.”
Bebe and Elsie, aged six and seven, were identified as the first victims in the attack on Tuesday.
In tribute to Bebe, her devastated family said: “No words can describe the devastation that has hit our family as try to deal with the loss of our little girl Bebe.”
Heartbroken friends and family then paid tribute to Alice, saying she was killed by a “despicable human being”.
Headteacher Jinnie Payne said: “It is with great sadness that we heard the tragic news about the three children who died following yesterday’s atrocity, including Alice Da Silva Aguiar, a Year 4 pupil at Churchtown, and Bebe King, a former pupil.
“Alice was the happiest of souls, a true ray of sunshine. She was known and loved by everyone in our school community of 700 children, a testament to her unique ability to connect with others.
“Bebe was a joyful girl, whose kindness radiated through the entire Churchtown community. During her time at the school, Bebe’s considerate nature and her love of learning shone through in everything that she did.”
Ms Payne added that a “number” of other children from Churchtown were involved in the attack, as well as colleagues.
Teacher Leanne Lucas, 35, is understood to be fighting for her life in hospital after “bravely trying to protect” kids at the Hart Space Studios.
Her colleague Heidi, also 35, escaped uninjured after heroically locking some of the children inside a toilet to keep them safe.
Meanwhile, Jonathan Hayes, 63, ran into the dance studio and tried to fend off the attacker moments after hearing screams from his nearby office and was stabbed in the leg.
Merseyside Police confirmed they had arrested a 17-year-old male from Banks in Lancashire on suspicion of murder and attempted murder.
The force said the motivation for the attack was ‘unclear’ but said it was not being treated as terror-related.
Southport summer camp attack timeline
Monday, July 29
10am
Taylor Swift-themed yoga and dance workshop begins at The Hart Space in Hart Street
11.47am
Police called to reports of a stabbing, and a major incident is declared
5.25pm
Police confirm 17-year-old male was arrested – and later clarify he was detained on suspicion of murder and attempted murder
7.18pm
Police confirm two young children have died
Tuesday, July 30
8.30am
Police confirm suspect continues to be questioned
10.30am
Taylor Swift posts tribute on Instagram
12.30pm
Police confirm a third girl, aged nine, has died – also say ages of first two deaths were six and seven
3.20pm
Police named the three victims as Bebe King, six; Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven; and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine.