Two have-a-go-hero NHS workers saved a man from a terrifying racist stabbing at London Bridge station by forming a human shield around him to protect him, witnesses said.
Olivia Gotts was travelling home from dinner with her colleagues at King’s College Hospital last Wednesday evening at around 10pm when they heard a man shouting racist abuse at another man, who is Black, near the station.
Witnesses said the suspect chased the man for two streets in Southwark, south London, while threatening him.
The NHS worker and her colleague, Amber, saw the commotion, stepped in and linked arms with each other to protect him from being injured.
Ms Gotts and her colleagues have now been praised by witnesses for their heroic efforts in saving the man.
Speaking about the incident, Ms Gotts described it as ‘pretty terrifying’.
She told Metro: ‘There was this man he [the suspect] was just getting really angry towards. He had a beer bottle in one hand and a sharp metal object in his right.
‘He was making stabbing actions saying “I’m going to stab you”, and then I looked around, there was one lady that got her phone out filming and everyone else was just watching.
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‘That’s what scared me the most. The guy who was getting followed look terrified.
‘I was with a friend and I grabbed her and said, “We gotta do something” and ran over. I didn’t really think, I just did it, like a fight or flight reaction.
‘I grabbed the guy, who he was about two metres away from, put my arms around him and say “My name is Olivia” and just rushed him into the station.
‘When we were in the station he said thank you, he was obviously really upset and really nervous, he was shaking, and the moment I let go he ran for it through the barriers.’
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Ms Gotts said she only grasped the risk she’d put herself in to save a stranger’s life after the adrenaline wore off.
She added that she decided to intervene after she was previously mugged and did not have anyone come to her aid.
‘If I ever saw anyone in trouble, I knew that I would help because I know how it feels not to be helped,’ she said.
‘Especially with the fact that people are scared to jump in because they’re worried about getting hurt as well.’
One witness, who contacted Metro to share the story of Olivia and Amber’s bravery, said: ‘I wanted to thank the girls as from what I saw was a very close shave for that man. The woman videoing disappeared but I wanted to report of these girls stepping in and saving this man’s life.
‘I wanted to try and say thank you as what they did was very brave.
‘We hear so much horrible stab stories and seeing them stick up for this young man is certainly heart warming.’
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