Australian barber Ricky Jefferies has been hailed as a hero for running out of his store to detain a man who authorities allege deliberately drove a car into lawmaker Helen Haines in the small town of Wangaratta, an incident that has shocked the country.
Jefferies had just finished haircuts for a young family on Monday when he said he heard a “loud bang” outside his shop and realised the driver of a Toyota LandCruiser had struck Haines, leaving her badly injured.
“It was crazy, I just ran out the front to see what was happening,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
He said he ran to assist the well-respected local MP, grabbing a knife from the alleged attacker’s pocket and pulling him out of the car.