Brave father and son praised after disarming man brandishing large knives in Peterborough medical centre

The dramatic incident unfolded at 1.30pm on Sunday (August 28) when Vinney King and his father Bernard O’Mahoney were driving along Granville Street, Peterborough, when they saw a man brandishing two large knives running barefoot along the street.

Mr O’Mahoney’s wife and two younger children were in the car but the pair decided to park the vehicle and follow the man.

The courageous pair ran after the man asking shaken passers-by which direction he had gone. They were told he had entered the Park Medical Centre and they gave chase. They entered the medical centre where they found a distressed pharmacist who pointed to a nearby room. The pair went into the room and 29-year-old Mr King, a 6ft 2in self-employed ceramic tiler from Dogsthorpe, shouted at the man to drop the knives.

He then approached the man and wrenched one knife from his grasp before shouting at him to drop the second knife. Mr King grabbed the second knife and the pair kept the man in the room at the medical centre until police arrived after a few minutes.

Mr King said: “I was with my dad and the family in the car and we saw a man running down the street with no shoes on and what looked like large knives. We decided to park up and follow him.

“I didn’t think about it too much at the time. There were women and children around and I’ve got a wife and kids and I just did what I’d expect any man in that situation to do.

“It’s the world we live in. We see a lot of incidents reported on the news and I’ve always thought that if I ever found myself in that situation I would do what I could. I think any man would have done the same if they’d seen a person running down the street waving knives.”

Police officers arrested the man and thanked Mr King for his courage.

Mr King added: “A police officer thanked us for what we had done. I don’t consider myself a hero but I think it’s something any man should do if something like this happens and there are women and children around.”

Mr King’s father, Bernard O’Mahoney, 56, from Lincoln, said he was very proud of his son.

“He’s a great lad, the sort who would do anything for anybody,” he said, “He’s brave and is the sort to step forward in situations like that. It wasn’t until afterwards that we thought what could have happened.

“Obviously when you see someone running down the street with two large knives and blood on him you think the worst. We thought about recent events in London and thought we had to follow him.

“We ran after him and people in the area were moving quickly away. Some people near the park told us he had gone into the medical centre so we followed. We went inside and found the pharmacist in a distressed state. He pointed to a side room and my son went in. He shouted at the man to drop the knife and stepped forward and took one off him. He stepped back and shouted again and then took the other knife from him.

“I had phoned the police earlier and when Vinney had disarmed the man I rang them to say he had been disarmed and no need to turn up all guns blazing.

“Police were there within ten minutes and they arrested him and took him away, The man was speaking a foreign language and was in a very heightened state.

“My son was the brave one, I really just called the police. I think the police do a great job and we all have to do our bit to support them. Afterwards you do stop to think what could have happened but at the time, with families around, you just feel you have to do something.”

A resident who contacted the Peterborough Telegroah siad: “The have-a-go-hero was exceptionally brave, In this day and age everyone is only too aware of what can happen. The two men who gave chase are heroes and the man who disarmed the knifeman deserves an award, it was incredibly courageous.”

Cambridgeshire Police arrested a white male believed to be aged in his 30s, a spokesman said: “We were called to an incident in Park Road yesterday at approximately 1.30pm. A male was arrested on suspicion of carrying a bladed article and enquiries are ongoing.”