Hero who took down Golders Green attacker 'only thinking of others' during confrontation with knifeman 'who stabbed two'

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Yonathan Elkouby, 33, who volunteers for Jewish community security group Shomrim, said he was at work in Hendon on Wednesday when he heard on his radio that a man had a knife.

Mr Elkouby, who works in sales and lives close to where the stabbings of two Jewish men took place, said he dropped everything and ran to his car to drive to the scene.

The married father-of-five said that the attacker was trying to “hit anyone he could” as he blocked the suspect with his car before helping police officers detain him.

“At one point, the guy came towards me with the knife, and what was most important to me was actually making sure others were safe," he told the Press Association.

He added:“I didn’t actually think about myself there and then, I was more thinking about other people, making sure they’re safe and making sure I can help the police tackle down the person, to make sure he’s unable to do anything.

Read more: Watch shocking moment police officers confront suspected Golders Green terrorist who refuses to drop knife

Read more: Timeline of recent attacks against Jewish community as two stabbed in terrorist incident

“At that moment, I had no idea that two people had been stabbed, all I knew was the guy had a knife."

Two Jewish men, aged 76 and 34, named by Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis as Nachman Moshe ben Chaya Sarah and Moshe Ben Baila, were stabbed shortly after 11am.

Both are being treated in hospital.

“Afterwards when I think about it, it was quite traumatising, because I was thinking the guy did come towards me, he was going towards the police, to all the people around him, trying to basically hit anyone that he could,”Mr Elkouby said.

The volunteer added that he held the attacker’s legs and one of his hands while the man was on the ground, after police officers had Tasered him.

The Metropolitan Police has released shocking footage filmed on body-worn cameras of the build-up to his arrest.

Mr Elkouby said that although his only thoughts at the time were of protecting people, after the man was arrested he realised how “lucky” he was not to have been injured.

Mr Elkouby added: “Things are being done to protect us but not enough that’s actually able to prevent these things.

“I do give credit to the police, I think one of the reasons they were there so fast is because they were around, you do see them more around in the Jewish communities.”

Ben Grossnass, also a Shomrim volunteer, said: “We got a phone call to the hotline at 11.20am this morning, we were on the scene within a minute-and-a-half of the phone call.

“I saw a lot of shock in the street and the attacker was having CPR, I think he went into cardiac arrest after being tasered.

“There is a lot of hate in society and antisemitism.

“There are ways the Government can crack down on this and it is time they did that.”

The incident, which has been declared a terrorist attack, is being investigated by authorities.

Counter Terrorism Police said they are searching an address in south-east London after it was reported the suspect had been involved in a prior “altercation” with another person.

Detectives have linked an "altercation" at 8.50am on Wednesday in Great Dover Street, SE1, to the north London attack, believing that the suspect, a 45-year-old Somali man, was the same man arrested in Golders Green.

A Met Police spokesperson said: "Police were called at approximately 08:50hrs on 29 April to an incident at an address in Great Dover Street, SE1. The suspect who is reported to have been armed with a knife, is believed to have had an altercation with the occupant before leaving.

"The occupant received minor injuries and police arrived within around six minutes of being called. Officers carried out searches in the local area for the suspect, but he was not located."