- The courageous civilians who helped police tackle the London Bridge attacker yesterday have spoken out about what drove them to approach him.
- Thomas Gray, 24, stood on the attacker's wrist to make him drop the knife he was holding.
- "My thoughts were just 'stop the dude'," he told The Times.
- Another civilian, identified only as a Polish man named Lukasz, used a five-foot narwhal tusk alongside a man with a fire extinguisher to tackle Kahn.
- They are being hailed as "true heroes."
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The courageous civilians who helped police tackle the London Bridge attacker yesterday have spoken out about what drove them to approach him.
The attacker, who was armed with two kitchen knives and a hoax bomb, has now been named as 28-year-old Usman Khan, who had previously been jailed for terrorism-related offenses.
Police were called to London Bridge at 13.58 p.m. local time on Friday November 29 — two people were killed and another three left injured before the attacker was shot dead.
And now the bravery of the civilians who helped bring down Khan is being celebrated.
"One in, all in"
Local tour guide Thomas Gray, 24, and his colleague Steve were two of the people who helped disarm Khan — when they saw what was happening, they got out of their cars to go and help.
"I've played rugby my whole life — the rule is one in, all in," he told The Times. "My colleague Steve had the same thought and got out of his car. My thoughts were just 'stop the dude'."
Gray continued: "I asked what was going on and they said the guy just stabbed two women back there. There were four or five guys on the floor with him. They were the bravest men I've ever seen.
"He was just saying, 'get off me' but there was no way that was going to happen. I stamped on his hand hard enough to break his wrist, and his grip loosened and he let go of the knife. Someone else kicked the knife away."
And from there, the police were able to take over, Gray said.
The tour guide added that he was "just a Londoner doing his bit" and went to the pub after the incident "to shake it off."
Londoners tackled Khan with a fire extinguisher and a narwhal tusk
In incredible footage shared on Twitter by various people including BBC Breakfast presenter Dan Walker, two further civilians can be seen tackling Kahn using a fire extinguisher and a five-foot narwhal tusk.
These fellas are amazing. The terrorist has already killed 2 people, injured others and they chase him down with a whale tusk and a fire extinguisher. He’s wearing a suicide vest which they don’t know is fake.
— Dan Walker (@mrdanwalker) November 30, 2019
Incredible. True heroes. #LondonBridge pic.twitter.com/0hduOInM9I
"These fellas are amazing," Walker wrote. "The terrorist has already killed 2 people, injured others and they chase him down with a whale tusk and a fire extinguisher.
"He's wearing a suicide vest which they don't know is fake. Incredible. True heroes."
The tusk-bearer — who has been identified as a Polish man named Lukasz — had taken the tusk from the wall of Fishmongers' Hall, where the attack began.
TV director Amy Coop tweeted that he took the tusk to go and confront Khan.
A guy who was with us at Fishmongers Hall took a 5’ narwhale tusk from the wall and went out to confront the attacker. You can see him standing over the man (with what looks like a white pole) in the video. We were trying to help victims inside but that man’s a hero #LondonBridge
— Amy Coop (@theamycoop) November 29, 2019
Khan was attending an event at Fishmongers' Hall organized by Cambridge University's Institute of Criminology, according to The Times, where guests included former inmates and prison staff.
The publication reports that Lukasz works at the venue, and valiantly battled Khan despite having been cut in the hand.
"Being stabbed didn't stop him giving him a beating," one of the man's colleagues, who requested not to be named, told The Times. "Lukasz is a hero."
Read more:
A man used a 5-foot narwhal tusk to confront the London terror suspect, according to an eyewitness
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