‘I don’t think I’m a hero’: Australian barber’s brave act hailed after MP hit by car
Australian barber Ricky Jefferies has been praised for intervening and detaining a man accused of deliberately driving a vehicle into lawmaker Helen Haines in the town of Wangaratta, in an incident that has shocked the country.Jefferies had just finished cutting the hair of a young family on Monday when he heard a “loud bang” outside his shop. He then realised that a Toyota LandCruiser had struck Haines, leaving the 65-year-old MP seriously injured, according to the news agency Reauters.“It was crazy, I just ran out the front to see what was happening,” he told reporters on Tuesday.Jefferies said he rushed to help the local MP, whom he described as well respected in the community. He removed a knife from the alleged attacker’s pocket and pulled the man out of the vehicle.“He did have a knife. He didn’t pull it out. I just wasn’t comfortable with his movements, and so I basically just took it out of his pocket and threw it away,” he said.The barber then restrained the man until police arrived at the scene.“I just leant over him and once he was on the ground and he was no longer a threat, I just stood with him and I told him that he can’t leave,” Jefferies said.
Helen Haines in critical condition
Haines was airlifted to hospital, where she underwent surgery overnight. She remains in a critical condition.Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said preliminary investigations indicated that the driver, a 43-year-old man, had made a U-turn before hitting Haines as she was loading or unloading items from the boot of her car.Several agencies are investigating the incident, including counterterrorism authorities. Police have not disclosed a motive for the alleged attack, but the involvement of counterterrorism investigators has raised concerns about the possibility of political violence, an uncommon occurrence in Australia.Jefferies’ barbershop is located next to Haines’ electorate office in Wangaratta, about three hours’ drive north-east of Melbourne. He described the MP, a former midwife, as a “genuine, kind person”.
Albanese praises barber’s intervention
Albanese praised Jefferies for stepping in to help Haines, calling him a hero during an interview with Nine Network’s Today programme.“At this dark and terrible time, an element of light is the fact that a Good Samaritan, someone rushed to Helen’s defence in Wangaratta, put themselves potentially at risk by doing so. And that person is a hero today,” the prime minister said.Jefferies, however, played down the praise, saying he had simply acted when he saw an opportunity to intervene.“I don’t think I’m a hero. I think that I just was a person who had an opportunity to intervene in a safe-ish sort of way,” he said.
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