大象传媒

Sydney stabbing: British 'heroes' who tackled knifeman

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Brothers Luke (L) Paul and (R) O'ShaughnessyImage source, PA Media
Image caption,

Brothers Luke (L) and Paul (R) O'Shaughnessy were alerted to the stabbing by a "massive scream"

Two British brothers who helped to restrain a knifeman in central Sydney have described their "scary" confrontation with the blood-soaked suspect.

Luke O'Shaughnessy, 30, and Paul, 37, have been hailed as heroes after they pinned down the attacker.

The armed man stabbed a woman in the street and has been linked to a second woman's body found nearby.

Luke and Paul said a "massive scream" alerted them to the street attack.

Both men, from Bury, Greater Manchester, were working in an office in the Australian city when they heard screams at 14:00 local time (04:00 BST).

'Kind of scary'

Luke, a professional Thai kick boxer, told the 大象传媒: "I was sat at my desk and heard a massive scream outside.

"I saw a man wielding a knife covered in blood jumping on top of a car.

"I saw an old man going at him with a chair. I said to Paul: 'Let's go - there's a knifeman'."

Luke said he arrived to find four men on top of the suspect and helped to pin him down with a chair and a crate.

He said: "We made sure we got round and didn't move. The knife was right beside him.

"It was scary - I didn't know whether he had a gun or a vest.

"I was worried. It was kind of scary but I had my brother around me so I had to protect him.

"I had to stop him doing anything else."

Media caption,

Dramatic video shows Sydney stabbing suspect's arrest

Paul, a former midfielder with Bury FC, said: "I didn't even think about it.

"I just thought 'is my brother going to be OK?' as we ran towards him."

The injured woman, 41, remains in a stable condition in hospital.

Australian police are continuing to quiz the suspect, and commissioner Mick Fuller told a press conference the stabbing was not currently being classed as a terrorist incident.

It is believed the suspect had a USB drive containing details of mass killings in New Zealand and the United States.