Shock. This is what is experienced in Quinta Grande, where the parents of the child who was stabbed yesterday in England and who died this morning are from. 10-year-old, Alice Aguiar, was born in England and had not been to Madeira for two years. Local JM newspaper reporters met with residents to share the pain and shock felt by the entire neighborhood.
Alice was an only child and she was one of the three children who were stabbed yesterday in Southport, northwest England.
The perpetrator of the attack, a 17-year-old boy, is already in custody.
The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, today lamented the death of the children victims of a knife attack in the United Kingdom and has already spoken with close relatives of the family to offer them condolences and solidarity.
“President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who has already spoken to close relatives, offered heartfelt condolences and his solidarity to the family of the Portuguese child who died, victim of the knife attack, yesterday in Southport, United Kingdom,” reads a statement on the Presidency of the Republic official website.
The young girl is one of the three fatalities of the “barbaric attack on a dance school in that English city”.
“The President of the Republic also offers condolences to the families of the remaining victims,” it adds.
One of the children killed in Monday’s attack in Southport, UK, has Portuguese nationality, the Secretary of State for Communities told Lusa today.
José Cesário added that the consul general of Portugal in Manchester has already spoken to an aunt of the child and that the parents “are in a state of shock and uncontactable.”
The governor said that the parents are originally from the Autonomous Region of Madeira.
Alice, who was born on the 15th of October, 2014, is registered at the Portuguese Consulate in Manchester. British police confirmed today that the attack, perpetrated by a 17-year-old boy, already detained, caused the death of three children – in addition to Alice the other two were aged six and seven years old.
Eight other minors were injured in the attack, two of whom were in serious condition, as well as two adults, who are also said to be in a serious condition.
The children were participating in an event at a dance school inspired by American artist Taylor Swift when the suspect entered armed with a knife and began to attack the children.
According to police, the adults were injured trying to “courageously” protect the children from the attacker.
Our thoughts are with all who have suffered in this tragedy.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
