Wednesday 8 March 2017

Brave Security Guard Dramatically Saves Hostage From Knife Wielding Thug

Ebrima Touray
Ebrima Touray risked his life diarming a man with knives in Hull mosque

A brave security guard has described the horrifying moment he disarmed a thug wielding a knife after he threatened to behead a man he was holding hostage at a mosque.

Haidar Hamid, 22, 'frog-marched' a neighbour to Hull Mosque and Islamic Centre while holding a serrated knife to his throat and a Stanley knife in his other hand.

With his victim bleeding from cuts to his cheek and chin, Hamid forced his head down in the mosque and asked: "Are you going to pray now?"

But he was spared further injury in a dramatic rescue by Ebrima Touray, 45, who was worshipper at the mosque and put himself in harm's way to disarm Hamid.

Recalling the incident, Touray, a security guard at St Stephen's shopping centre, told Hull Daily Mail : "I was at the mosque praying when I saw this guy walk in with his shoes on.

"Shoes are not allowed to be worn in any mosque and one of my friends kept telling him, 'No shoes, no shoes'.

"When I looked back he hadn't left but instead closed the door and that's when I saw the knife in his hand.

"I saw the guy with him had a slice on his face, so I asked him, 'Who did that to you? Did he do this to you?'

<>p"He nodded, so I told [Hamid] to put the knife away. At that point he said, 'This is my knife', and put it in his pocket.

Ebrima Touray
Hamid, of Albany Street, west Hull, has now been jailed for ten years

"My friend at the mosque was speaking Arabic to [Hamid] so I told him to keep his concentration and keep talking to him. That's when I managed to grab the knife off him.

"He ran off so I called the police, and I saw a guy pull up in a car shouting his name, and I told him he wasn't taking him anywhere.

"He said he was from his hostel, but I wasn't having that. He hadn't protected him when he left with this guy with a knife, so I wasn't going to let him protect him now."

Asked by police why he had the knife, Hamid said "to cut off his head".

Hamid, of Albany Street, west Hull, has now been jailed for ten years as a judge commended Touray and fellow worshipper, Taha Mohammed, for their "extremely remarkable courage".

Mohammed comforted the victim until police arrived, arrested Hamid and recovered the knives from the mosque in Berkeley Street, west Hull.

Touray believes his 14 years' experience as a security guard helped him talk Hamid out of further harming the victim.

"I knew I had to help when I saw what was happening," he said.

"If I didn't he could have easily gone out and hurt someone in the street.

"My job helped me in the situation, because I knew what to do. I don't think I would have gone as near him if not.

Ebrima Touray
Incident happened at Hull Mosque and Islamic Centre

"But I think everyone needs to help out in some little bit when these things happen.

"I have been visiting this mosque for years and this is the first time anything like this has happened.

"This is a community we all have to live in."

When Hamid was interviewed by police the day after the incident on September 9, last year, he said he was going to kill the man with one of the knives, and asked why, said: "To stop him doing bad things to me."

He admitted kidnap, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and threatening with an offensive weapon.


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