STRANGERS' HEROIC ACT: Dramatic citizen's arrest after stabbing at cafe
Wild CCTV footage captured the moment members of the public restrained a man, who was allegedly wielding a knife and 'behaving erratically' outside a cafe on Puckle St in Moonee Ponds about 3.30pm Monday.
'Good Samaritans were able to subdue the man until police arrived and arrested him,' police said Moments before the passer-by threw a chair at the allegedly armed man. Supplied Credit: Supplied
The security video showed the man banging on the cafe window with a knife in his hand before turning around and walking towards outdoor chairs and tables.
He could be seen knocking down the furniture and hurling a chair onto the footpath, narrowly missing passers-by as they watched on.
Seconds later, another person picked up the strewn chair and threw it towards the alleged offender, knocking him over before the man was detained by Good Samaritans, before police arrived and arrested him.
The 37-year-old Ascot Vale man is expected to be charged on summons with possessing a controlled weapon.
Police told NewsWire the man in the footage was not related to a separate stabbing incident that occurred an hour later in the same area.
'Investigators are treating this as an isolated incident,' the statement read. Security footage shows a man using a chair to knock over the alleged attacker before detaining him. Supplied Credit: Supplied
Shortly after 4.30pm on Monday on Homer St, mere metres from where the 37-year-old man was detained, another man was taken down in another dramatic citizen's arrest after allegedly stabbing a man outside the shopping centre.
Emergency crews were called to the scene following reports of an altercation between two people.
Police allege the two men were seen arguing when one allegedly pulled a knife and stabbed the other in the neck and chest.
A 44-year-old Essendon man suffered minor injuries and was transported to hospital for treatment. The man in a black beanie was detained by members of the public. Supplied Credit: Supplied
His alleged attacker was detained by members of the public before being arrested.
'The man was taken into custody and will be assessed by the Forensic Medical Officer before being interviewed,' a police spokesman said.
A 55-year-old Fitzroy man was later charged with intentionally/recklessly cause serious injury and assault with a weapon.
He has been remanded to appear at Melbourne Magistrate's Court on Tuesday.
Police confirmed the two incidents were not related and are being treated as an isolated incident. In a separate, unrelated incident nearby, a 55-year-old man has been charged and will appear in court on Tuesday. Credit: Channel 7
Witness Liam Clifford told 7News the man appeared to shout 'Allahu Akbar' once he was restrained by police.
'He was calling it over and over again, he just wouldn't stop – I think it was in response to getting tackled,' he told the outlet.
'It was scary. You don't normally see this stuff happen in Moonee Ponds so it was pretty confronting.'
Police said there was no ongoing threat and the incident was not terror-related.
'There is nothing to indicate that any ideology is the motive behind the attack at this early stage in the investigation,' police said.
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