https://arab.news/wmqxf
- British-Arab rail worker armed himself from the train’s kitchen to confront attacker and shield passengers during mass stabbing
- Growing calls for Zitouni, who is in a critical but stable condition in hospital, to be formally honored for his bravery
LONDON: A British-Arab rail worker hailed for his bravery during a mass stabbing on a train used a frying pan to fight off the knifeman, UK media reported on Wednesday.
Samir Zitouni, 48, remains in a critical but stable condition in hospital after he was injured defending passengers during the attack on Saturday evening.
The customer experience host for London North Eastern Railway has been widely praised as a hero who saved lives during the knife rampage on the London-bound train.
It has now emerged that Zitouni grabbed the frying pan from the train’s galley kitchen before confronting the attacker and risking his life to shield passengers, ITV’s Good Morning Britain program reported.
The fresh details emerged amid growing calls for Zitouni’s bravery to be formally recognized.
Detectives, who viewed CCTV footage of the attack, said his actions were “nothing short of heroic and undoubtedly saved people’s lives.”
Ray Zarb, a friend and neighbor, described Zitouni as a “very cool customer” and a “very fit guy.
“It doesn’t surprise me, really, when you think about it,” he told ITV. “But knowing it, hearing it, and finding out it’s him, is absolutely incredible.”
Zitouni, who has been described as Algerian-born on social media, has worked for LNER for more than 20 years.
On Tuesday evening, his actions were praised in the UK’s House of Lords.
“He is the person who would normally be serving tea or refreshments, but he stepped up to the plate and put his own life at risk by taking strong steps,” Lord Hanson of Flint, a home office minister, said.
“We should recognize his act of tremendous bravery, and I wish him well for the future.”
Richard Holden MP, who oversees transport for the opposition Conservative Party, has written to government officials requesting that Zitouni is honored under “acts of selfless and outstanding bravery.
“Mr Zitouni is a highly respected member of staff with more than 20 years’ service on the railway,” the MP wrote.
“His courage on November 1 was not incidental; it was a conscious and selfless act to protect strangers, undertaken in the most violent and chaotic of circumstances, with no thought for his own safety.”
Zitouni has also been praised by LNER bosses, and on Tuesday his family said he had “always been a hero” to them.
He was among 11 people treated in hospital for injuries when a knifeman started attacking people on the train on Saturday evening.
Other staff and passengers have been praised for their bravery during the attack.
Football fan Stephen Crean was repeatedly stabbed after confronting the attacker and the train’s driver Andrew Johnson managed to quickly divert the train to the nearest station to get the passengers off.
Anthony Williams, 32, has been charged with 10 counts of attempted murder and an additional count of attempted murder in connection with another attack in London on Saturday.