A man who intervened in a stabbing in Belfast has spoken out, insisting he simply did what anyone else would have done. Matt McKiernan, 32, grabbed his son's hurling stick from the boot of his car and struck the attacker repeatedly over the head.
McKiernan and his friend Andre, who is trained in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, were returning from a petrol station when they witnessed a man being stabbed. The victim, in his 40s, suffered serious injuries to his eyes and neck after being ambushed.
The suspect, a Sudanese national in his 30s who entered the UK via the Irish border after flying from Paris to Dublin, has been charged with attempted murder and is due in court on Wednesday, June 10.
McKiernan, from West Belfast, recounted the incident to MailOnline: 'I turned into Kinnaird Avenue and saw another car stopped in the middle of the road. The woman driving reversed at speed, as if trying to get away. She stopped as I approached, and I drove around her. Then we saw two men fighting, with one on top of the other.'
He added: 'It was late at night, so we thought we should break it up. Andre jumped out first and spotted the knife, shouting for help. I had taken my son to hurling practice earlier, so I grabbed his hurling stick from the boot. Instinct took over. I ran over and smashed the guy over the head with the stick, right on the flat side, about three times, as hard as I could.'
Andre then placed the attacker in an ankle hold until police arrived. McKiernan, who runs his own removal company, said: 'I'm glad we intervened. It was pure chance we took that route to the petrol station. People call us heroes, but I'd like to think most people would have helped if they could. I just hope the victim recovers.'
Despite his modesty, a friend set up a GoFundMe page to 'buy him a pint,' which raised over £10,000 within hours.
