Volunteer who took on Golders Green knifeman ‘only thought of protecting others’
Community volunteer describes split-second response to Golders Green stabbing as fear grows over antisemitic violence
A hero volunteer who told of confronting the Golders Green attacker has said his only thoughts were of protecting others as the knifeman came towards him.
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 told the Press Association that the attacker was trying to “hit anyone he could” as he blocked the suspect with his car before helping police officers detain him.
He said: “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.
“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.
“At that moment, I had no idea that two people had been stabbed, all I knew was the guy had a knife.
“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 he held the attacker’s legs and one of his hands while the man was on the ground, after police officers had Tasered him.
He 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, told PA: “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.”
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