The Shadow of a Son: A Father's Agony After Southport's Unthinkable Tragedy

Southport, a quiet coastal town, has been shaken to its core by a horror that feels almost too raw to comprehend. And in the grim aftermath, a voice emerges – one of chilling candour and profound despair. It belongs to Rocky Marciano Price, the father of 17-year-old Ben Price, the young man accused of a brutal stabbing rampage that claimed one life and left two others gravely injured.

"He threatened to kill me. All the time, he threatened to kill me." This wasn't some distant fear, but a lived reality, a constant dread gnawing at a father's heart. Mr. Price, in a heart-wrenching interview, described his own son as a 'monster' when not on prescribed medication, a dark presence that had overshadowed their lives for years. It's a confession that adds another layer of tragic complexity to an already devastating event.

The incident itself unfolded with terrifying speed: three teenage girls attacked, seemingly at random, outside a Chinese takeaway. Chloi Aimee Gill, a vibrant 16-year-old, lost her life, while two other girls, aged 15 and 16, were left seriously wounded. Imagine, if you will, the sheer terror of that moment, the indelible scar left on a community that thought itself safe.

But the story, as often happens with such profound tragedies, runs deeper than the immediate headlines. Ben Price, it turns out, has a troubled history – a deeply fractured past marked by ADHD and autism. He spent time in care, a detail that speaks volumes about the challenges he faced, and perhaps, the support he may or may not have received. And here’s the unsettling truth: his father reveals this wasn't Ben's first brush with such extreme violence. Previously, he'd allegedly stabbed both his father and his own mother. He even, we hear, threatened a social worker. One can only pause and wonder, what kind of desperation must a parent feel when their child’s past paints such a bleak picture?

Rocky Price, visibly distraught, speaks of years spent pleading with authorities, desperately seeking help for his son's deteriorating mental state. He felt, he says, utterly abandoned by a system he believed was meant to protect. He’d wanted his son 'locked up' for everyone's safety – his own, his family's, and yes, for the wider public. A chilling foresight, perhaps, that sadly went unheeded.

Initially, police had, for a fleeting moment, classified the attack as a terror incident, especially after reports surfaced that the attacker shouted "Allahu Akbar." However, subsequent investigations quickly found no evidence of radicalisation. It seems, in truth, the true terror lay closer to home, rooted in profound mental health struggles that spiralled out of control.

The town of Southport is now united in grief and disbelief. Families mourn, friends comfort one another, and questions – oh, so many questions – hang heavy in the air. How could this happen? Could it have been prevented? For Rocky Marciano Price, there's only a crushing weight of sorrow, a desperate apology to the victims' families, and the hollow echo of a life lived in fear of the very child he brought into the world. It’s a tragic reminder, you could say, of the invisible battles fought within families, and the devastating consequences when those battles spill over into the world outside.