A man known only as a “Polish chef named “Łuckasz” is being hailed a hero for pulling a narwhal tusk off the wall at Fishmongers Hall in London and using it to stop the terrorist who started randomly stabbing people at a university event there. In fact, video has circulated showing Luckasz confronting attacker Usman Khan along with another man wielding a fire extinguisher.
The video shows the heroic citizens cornering the stabber on the street. Peter Sweden, a journalist, shared the video on Twitter and wrote, “Polish man attacking the London bridge terrorist with a narwhal tusk. Somebody give this dude a suit of shining armor already. The Polish don’t mess around. His name is Luckasz. Share this act of bravery! History will not forget this man.”
Police previously identified the London Bridge attacker – who killed two people and injured three – as Khan, a 28-year-old man with a terrorism conviction. Other videos showed police gunning him down as citizens still surrounded him in the November 29, 2019 attack. He was attending a university prison rehabilitation conference when the stabbing broke out. The first victim named was Jack Merritt, who worked on prisoner rehabilitation issues.
Polish man attacking the London bridge terrorist with a narwhal tusk.
Somebody give this dude a suit of shining armor already.
The Polish don’t mess around 🇵🇱
His name is Luckasz. Share this act of bravery!
History will not forget this man.
Metropolitan Police, wrote in a statement, “We are now in a position to confirm the identity of the suspect as 28-year-old Usman Khan (10.03.1991).”
The Times of London first identified the hero with the narwhal tusk as “Luckasz,” a Polish immigrant who helps set up events at the hall.
“Academics were finishing workshops on storytelling and creative writing when a guest at the conference on prisoner rehabilitation appeared clutching two large kitchen knives,” The Times reported. That’s when Luckasz and other citizens sprang into action.
Luckasz was stabbed in the process, according to The Times, which quoted a colleague as saying, “Being stabbed didn’t stop him giving him a beating. Luckasz is a hero.”
What’s a narwhal tusk? According to Ocean Conservancy, they are sea animals “widely recognized for their unique tusk,” and thus resulting in their nickname “unicorn of the sea.” It’s actually an overgrown tooth.
Here’s what you need to know:
People Praised the Chef’s Heroism After He Took the Five Foot Narwhal Tusk From the Wall to Go After Khan
It was a Polish chef named Łukasz (although, in his honor, the British press misspells him as “Luckasz”) who fought the #LondonBridge terrorist w/ a narwhal tusk he grabbed from the wall of Fishmongers Hall. #LondonBridgeHero
Bloody Poles comin’ ‘ere taking down our terrorists.
Amy Coop wrote on Twitter: “A guy who was with us at Fishmongers Hall took a 5’ narwhale (narwhal) 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.”
Another woman responded, “These guys are absolutely amazing. They were just random people who took upon themselves to protect the rest of us. Rather than focus on the perpetrator we can look up to those whose heroic actions are worthy of admiration. I really hope they will get the recognition they deserve.”
Narwhal tusks were believed to have magical power and were often sold as “unicorn horns” to collectors. One was used by a Polish immigrant and hero named Łukasz to take down the terrorist on London Bridge. He took it from the display in Fishmongers Hall where he worked. #hero
Coop responded, “The reason I knew what it was was because not 10mins before I was having a conversation about them with someone in the building. There were two, mounted either side of a doorway.”
People filled up Twitter with comments about Luckasz, with one man writing, “Loving the fact that Luckasz a chef at fishmongers hall with knives all around him looked up on the wall at a Narwhal tusk and thought”yep, that’ll do” #genius #LondonBridgeAttack.”
Other graphic video captured the moment that police surrounded and then shot the suspect, who was on the ground, as one of the heroic bystanders walks off with the knife. Be aware that these videos are disturbing because they capture the shooting. There is also graphic language.
There are five victims, two fatally injured. “Tragically, two people – a man and a woman – were killed during the attack. Three others – a man and two women – were also injured and remain in hospital,” Met police wrote. The victims were not identified.
According to Mirror, many heroic citizens sprang into action, with one man inside Fishmongers’ Hall, where the attack broke out, grabbing “a five foot narwhal tusk” from the wall to ward off Khan. Daily Mail identified that man as a chef named Luckasz.
Twitter/@HLOBlogThe London Bridge attack video shows a hero bystander with a knife after disarming the suspect (left) and police shooting the suspect (right.)
The Telegraph reported that the suspect had a prior terrorism conviction he was on a “tag” for and had connections to “Islamist terror groups.”
The Met police confirmed Khan’s past criminal history, writing in a statement, “This individual was known to authorities, having been convicted in 2012 for terrorism offences. He was released from prison in December 2018 on licence and clearly, a key line of enquiry now is to establish how he came to carry out this attack.”
The Guardian reported that the suspect was convicted as part of the “2010 Stock Exchange plot.”
Nine men pleaded guilty over the incident in 2012. A 2012 article in BBC reported that Khan was among nine men who were arrested in 2010 and “plotted to bomb the London Stock Exchange and build a terrorist training camp.” Three of the men, including Khan, were described then by BBC as “all members of an al-Qaeda inspired terror group” who “received indeterminate sentences for public protection at London’s Woolwich Crown Court.”
BBC added, “The court heard they had planned to raise funds for a terrorist camp in Pakistan and recruit Britons to attend.” Khan was 20 at the time and received at least eight years in prison. The story called the suspects “British nationals of Bangladeshi and Pakistani origin” and “Islamic fundamentalists.”
Telegraph reported of the stock exchange plot at the time that some of the suspects “plotted to plant a pipe bomb in the lavatories of the London Stock Exchange and a handwritten target list found at (at a different suspect’s) home also listed the names and addresses of London Mayor Boris Johnson, the Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral, two rabbis and the American Embassy in London.”
During the London attack, CNN reported that the suspect was “wielding two knives, one was duct-taped to his hand” and a witness said he tried to “stamp the other knife from his wrist.” That witness also said he saw the suspect “running away from five guys running him down with a fire extinguisher.”
Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Cressida Dick, said in a statement: “I am deeply saddened and angered that our city has again been targeted by terrorism. It is with the heaviest of hearts that I must now inform you that, as well as the suspect who was shot dead by police, two of those injured in this attack in the London Bridge area have tragically lost their lives.”
She added: “My heart goes out to their loved ones and to the three further injured victims who I understand are being treated in hospital, and of course to everybody who has been affected by today’s terrible and mindless events.”
According to Dick, “The attack started at Fishmonger’s Hall in the City of London. My understanding is that police were called at 13:58hrs and City of London police officers had bravely and professionally confronted the suspect by 14:03hrs, just five minutes later.”
The London Bridge terror attack left multiple victims injured, the Metropolitan Police in London, England confirmed on November 29, 2019.
Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations Neil Basu wrote in a statement: “I can confirm that at approximately 2pm today, Friday, 29 November, police were called to a stabbing at a premises near to London Bridge, EC1. Emergency services attended, including officers from the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police.”
Guy Lawrence told the Sun he saw the man, armed with two knives, running out of Fishmonger’s Hall, being chased by citizens with a stick and fire extinguisher.
2. Videos Show Police Shooting the Suspect & a Hero Bystander Walking Off With a Knife
One of the videos that emerged on Twitter shows a close up view of the hero bystander running with the knife after apparently disarming the suspect.
@HLOBlog shared a video on Twitter and wrote, “Please stay away from #LondonBridge! I just saw a man with a knife being shot in the head by police. Please be careful London!” That video has been viewed more than 500,000 times on Twitter. “He has a knife,” people say in the video.
The account that shared the video, @HLBlog, defines itself as “Travel blog by Yaya & Lloyd.” The man running the account wrote that he personally took the video, writing, “I’m safe. I did take this video it was me who saw this in front of me. ?”
Another video, which you can see above, shows an even closer up view. You can see the HLOBlog video with the next fact.
One man shared a photo of the hero bystander on Twitter and wrote, “This man was walking behind us on the other side of London Bridge when the attack began. He ran through traffic and jumped the central partition to tackle the attacker with several others. We ran away but looks like he disarmed him. Amazing bravery.”
According to The Guardian, the suspect, had previously traveled to Pakistan’s “federally administered tribal areas (Fata) and planned to fund, construct and take part in a terrorist training camp in Kashmir, with a view to carrying out terrorist acts in the future.”
Neil Basu, head of UK counter-terrorism policing, said in a press conference: “I can confirm that we believe a device was strapped to the body of the suspect was a hoax device.”
You can read Basu’s full statement here.
Dick stressed that “the empty ideology of terror offers nothing but hatred and today I urge everyone to reject that. Ours is a great city because we embrace each other’s differences. We must emerge stronger still from this tragedy. In doing that we will ensure that the few who seek to divide us will never, ever succeed.”
Met Police said the suspect attended an event called “Learning Together” when the attack broke out.
“The circumstances, as we currently understand them, are that the attacker attended an event earlier on Friday afternoon at Fishmonger’s Hall called ‘Learning Together’. We believe that the attack began inside before he left the building and proceeded onto London Bridge, where he was detained and subsequently confronted and shot by armed officers. Daily Mail reported that the event was “a Cambridge University conference on prisoner rehabilitation.”
Telegraph reported that the event “brings together people in criminal justice and higher education institutions” and Khan was “invited to share his experiences as a former prisoner.”
One witness told Daily Mail: “The guy who was on top of him said he [the attacker] had been in prison for terrorism, apparently. Some of the guys who were on top of him were ex-prisoners and they had all been in the Fishmongers’ Hall. The guy told me he was in prison with the attacker.”