Inquest reveals how Spain¡¯s ¡°skateboard hero¡± rushed to protect victims
Security footage shows Ignacio Echeverr¨ªa jumping from his bicycle to defend the public from the knife-wielding terrorists in the London attack
An inquest into the London Bridge and Borough Market terrorist atrocity in London in 2017 has shone a light on the valiant efforts of Spain¡¯s so-called ¡°skateboard hero,¡± Ignacio Echeverr¨ªa, to fend off the perpetrators with his skateboard and protect the victims of the attack.
Echeverr¨ªa, 39, died after trying to defend a woman who was being stabbed by one of the three terrorists who drove a vehicle into pedestrians, then attacked passersby with knives on the night of June 3. Echeverr¨ªa took on one of the terrorists using his skateboard as a weapon, and was stabbed to death.
If I had stayed, they would have also stabbed me
Guillermo S¨¢nchez-Montisi, a friend of Echeverr¨ªa
The Central Criminal Court, known as the Old Bailey, heard on Monday from several witnesses about Echeverr¨ªa¡¯s brave actions, which were captured by security cameras in the area.
¡°He didn¡¯t even think about it,¡± Guillermo S¨¢nchez-Montisi, a friend of Echeverr¨ªa who was at the scene, told the court. ¡°One of the attackers tried to cover his face as Ignacio hit him.¡±
Echeverr¨ªa was riding his bicycle near London Bridge with S¨¢nchez-Montisi and a third friend when the terrorists launched their attack. Hours earlier, the three had been practicing skateboarding in the South Bank neighborhood in London. According to S¨¢nchez-Montisi, they first witnessed a man with a knife wound running away from London Bridge; then saw the man get stabbed in the neck and fall to the ground, when he tried protect two victims: Marie Bondeville and Oliver Dowling.
The court watched CCTV footage of the incident, which shows Echeverr¨ªa jumping immediately from his bicycle and running to help. One of the terrorists, Rachid Redouane, is seen to lunge at Echeverr¨ªa and he falls to the ground. Redouane and another terrorist, Youssef Zaghba, continue to assault him as he lies on the pavement.
¡°From the way they were attacking the pedestrians it was clear their intentions were to kill everybody,¡± S¨¢nchez-Montisi told the court, adding the terrorists appeared ¡°prepared¡± and ¡°professional.¡±
When S¨¢nchez-Montisi saw one of the terrorists coming for him, he threw something at the man and cycled away as fast as he could toward London Bridge. ¡°Everyone was running. If I had stayed, they would have stabbed me too,¡± he said.
Echevarr¨ªa had moved to London a year before the attack to be closer to his sister and nephew
S¨¢nchez-Montisi said he continues to feel guilty about leaving his injured friend behind, adding he would not wish ¡°that feeling¡± of futility ¡°on his worst enemy.¡±
Echevarr¨ªa had moved to London a year before the attack to be closer to his sister and nephew. He lived in the Poplar neighborhood in the London borough of Tower Hamlets.
The eight-week inquest began on May 7 and will examine the deaths of the eight people killed in the June 3 attack, which left another 48 injured.
English version by Melissa Kitson.
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