London Bridge Hero Speaks Out About Taking On Terrorist With Narwhal Tusk

The hero who took on the London Bridge terrorist with a narwhal tusk has spoken out about how he helped to end the knifeman's attack.

Usman Khan killed Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones - as well as injuring three others - on 29 November, before ultimately being shot dead by police.

Shortly after the attack, videos emerged on social media of citizens helping to take down Khan - one of whom was armed with a narwhal tusk.

Darryn Frost - a 38-year-old civil servant at the Ministry of Justice - was attending a prisoner rehabilitation event when he heard a commotion downstairs and grabbed the tusk from the wall in Fishmongers' Hall.

Twitter

Speaking to the BBC, he said: "A few of us rushed to the scene. I took a narwhal tusk from the wall and used it to defend myself and others from the attacker.

"Another man was holding the attacker at bay with a wooden chair. I ran down the stairs, stood next to the man with the chair, and the two of us confronted the attacker.

"He had knives in both hands and, upon seeing me with the narwhal tusk, pointed at his midriff.

"He turned and spoke to me, then indicated he had an explosive device around his waist. At this point, the man next to me threw his chair at the attacker, who then started running towards him with knives raised above his head."

BBC

Mr Frost - who was born in South Africa and moved to the UK 14 years ago - then handed the tusk to the man before going back upstairs to find another one. Upon returning, he found the first tusk shattered on the floor and all around him people were fleeing.

He said: "Along with others, I pursued the attacker, tusk in hand, onto the bridge. We called out to warn the public of the danger and, after a struggle, managed to restrain him to the ground.

"At that point I was trying to isolate the blades by holding his wrists so that he could not hurt anyone or set off the device."

Mr Frost was then pulled away by an officer seconds before Khan was shot and killed.

While Mr Frost said he 'will always feel the deep hurt of not being able to save' Ms Jones and Mr Merritt, he said the selflessness of injured people who refused treatment so that those more seriously injured could receive help filled him with 'hope on that dark day'.

PA

He added: "Not only do I want to thank those who confronted the attacker, but also those who put themselves in danger to tend to the injured, relying on us to protect them while they cared for others.

"I feel we all have a duty to challenge the spread of fear, hatred or intolerance within our communities."

Topics: UK News, Inspirational

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey