Hero: ‘I got him but he didn’t go down’
The man who has been hailed as a hero for ramming the knife-wielding Bourke St attacker with a supermarket trolley has described how he acted instinctively.
Dubbed ‘Trolley Man’’ by the internet, Michael Rogers is seen in footage coming to the aid of police officers as Hassan Khalif Shire Ali lunged at them with a knife on Friday.
Rogers, who is understood to be homeless, has been praised online with some calling for him to receive a bravery medal.
By yesterday morning, thousands of dollars had been raised for the 46-yearold through a GoFundMe page.
‘‘I’ve seen the trolley to the side, so I’ve picked it up and I’ve ran and threw the trolley straight at him – got him, but didn’t get him down,’’ Rogers told 7 News. ‘‘And I did that motion . . . quite a number of times but it just wasn’t getting him down.
‘‘It was a spur of the moment thing. ‘‘There was only two police officers arrived at the time, within seconds of the incident.
‘‘The guy was out of control so I just went into action mode and tried to swipe him with the trolley.’’
At one point, Rogers loses his balance, but then gets back up and pushes the trolley towards the attacker again.
A GoFundMe page titled ‘‘Thankyou Trolley man’’ had raised more than A$1800 (NZ$1900) for Rogers on Saturday.
By 10am yesterday, the raised had swelled to A$8190.
‘‘We’ve since learned that Trolley man is homeless and we believe his efforts deserve a reward that can really help him out,’’ the crowdfunding page money states.
‘‘He’s a hero in our eyes. He risked his own life that day for nothing in return and you can’t put a price on that.’’
7 News reporter Robert Ovadia said after the interview was shot, a police officer shook Rogers’ hand and said thank you.
Police chief commissioner Graham Ashton confirmed authorities had spoken with the man, but cautioned the public not to put themselves in harm’s way.
Two other bystanders came to the aid of police, one with a chair and one wielding the base of a traffic cone.
Moments later, Shire Ali was downed with a single shot to the chest.
– Fairfax