The man, who is believed to be a Polish chef named Luckasz, was attending a conference in Fishmongers Hall, just off London Bridge, when the attack broke out. According to eyewitnesses, when Usban Khan began his cowardly assault on unarmed civilians the quick-thinking individual pulled the whale tusk from a wall and used it to confront the attacker.
Amy Coop, who was also at the conference, wrote about the man’s actions on Twitter: “A guy who was with us at Fishmongers Hall took a 5' narwhal tusk from the wall and went out to confront the attacker,” she said.
These fellas are amazing. The terrorist has already killed 2 people, injured others and they chase him down with a whale tusk and a fire extinguisher. He’s wearing a suicide vest which they don’t know is fake.
— Dan Walker (@mrdanwalker) 30 พฤศจิกายน 2562
Incredible. True heroes. #LondonBridge pic.twitter.com/0hduOInM9I
The tusk-wielding champion was joined in tackling the terrorist by a couple of other people, including a man who sprayed Khan with a fire extinguisher. When the small group knocked the attacker to the ground another man hurried away with his knife.
Two Londoners, one armed with a fire extinguisher and the other with a narwhal tusk, take on a knife-wielding terrorist on London Bridge. pic.twitter.com/QtJrgei5do
— Ben Stephens (@stephens_ben) 29 พฤศจิกายน 2562
Footage from the scene shows one man grappling on the ground with Khan before police arrived and shot the assailant. Khan was wearing a suicide vest that was later revealed to be a hoax.
A convicted murderer who was out on day release was reportedly one of the people who subdued the extremist. As well as tackling Khan, James Ford also tried to save the life of one of his victims.
The 42-year-old was jailed for life in 2004 after murdering a 21-year-old with learning difficulties, the Daily Mail reports. Ford was given a minimum 15-year sentence after killing Amanda Champion who had the mental age of a 15-year-old.
Khan was a convicted terrorist who was jailed over a plot to bomb the London Stock Exchange. He had served time in prison and was wearing an electronic tag at the time of the attack.