A man has described how he fought and fended off a knife-wielding attacker with a fire extinguisher after barricading himself and others inside an office of a warehouse where five people were injured during a mass stabbing.
Police arrested a 30-year-old man after the attack at a warehouse close to a supermarket in Croydon, south London, on Thursday morning.
Among those hurt was Joseph Denton, 29, who described how he used the fire extinguisher to fend off the knifeman at a Sainsbury’s and Argos distribution centre on the Beddington trading estate.
One of those injured was taken to a major trauma centre in London and four other people were taken to hospital, according to the London ambulance service.
Denton, from Rayleigh in Essex, who had a bandage on his finger, said: “He didn’t say a word. He stabbed two people in the chest, one had a big gash in his arm. I think someone [was stabbed] in the side as well.
“We locked ourselves in the office. He was banging on the door. Then we heard shouting and stuff so we opened the door because it sounded like they were getting murdered.
“At which point he sprinted back at me. I couldn’t shut it in time so he got halfway through the door and he was stabbing at my neck and chest like this and I was deflecting it. I managed to grab his wrist and that was when he sliced my finger open.
“Then I punched him, I tried to head-butt him. I pushed him out the door and squashed his ankle with the door. I picked up a fire extinguisher and hit him around the head with it,” said Denton. “There was women in the room behind us so if I wasn’t there he would have got through to them.”
The Metropolitan police said officers first responded at 10.15am and that five people – a man in his 50s, two men in their 30s and two men in their 20s – were taken to hospital with stab wounds. Their conditions were assessed as not life-threatening.
The man who was arrested nearby on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and possession of an offensive weapon was also taken to hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.
Ch Supt Andy Brittain, the local policing commander for south London, said: “Officers responded quickly and arrested the suspect within an hour. An investigation is now under way.
“Based on initial inquiries, we believe all those involved knew each other. Therefore we do not believe there is any wider risk to the public.”
Police were said to have been called on Sunday at about 6pm after a man turned up at the centre and told staff at the reception area he wanted to speak to a manager. He was said to have become aggressive but was then chased out of the building and police were called.
