Sydney stabbing: ‘Has he got a gun?’ Brothers follow trail of blood

Two brothers ­followed a trail of blood as they tracked the man who had ­allegedly gone on a rampage.

Lee Cuthbert, Paul O'Shaughnessy and Alex Roberts after helping restrain a knife-wielding attacker in Sydney CBD. Picture: Jane Dempster

Luke and Paul O’Shaughnessy ­followed a trail of blood down King Street in Sydney’s CBD as they tracked the man who had ­allegedly gone on a violent rampage, killing one woman and stabbing another.

The brothers’ only thoughts were on keeping other people safe, as families and children fled King Street while Mert Ney, splattered with blood and wielding a knife, ran through the street yelling ­“Allahu akbar!”.

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“It was just an ordinary day,” Paul said. “We’re in the office on King Street … and we heard a ­kerfuffle and my brother, Luke, went to the window and said ‘Paul, Paul, Paul’, so I’ve run over to see and … (the attacker’s) wielding a knife and it’s got blood on it, and he’s got on the top of a bonnet (of a car).”

Luke O’Shaughnessy. Source: Instagram

Luke, a Muay Thai boxer, and Paul ran out into the street but the 21-year-old alleged ­ attacker had fled. “You could see drips — the blood was on the ground, like drips so you could see it, see where he’s gone,” Paul told The Australian.

“(We) were like ‘Right, where is he? Where is he?’ … I’m shouting, because I’m a bit more risk-averse than Luke, (who is) straight in there.”

After catching up with Ney, the brothers rushed the alleged ­attacker, forcing him to the ground and shoving a milk crate over his head.

Two other men, including a firefighter, pinned the man to the ground with chairs from a nearby restaurant, while the brothers’ colleagues, Lee Cuthbert and Alex Roberts, flanked them.

Police lead Ney away. Picture: 7 News

Paul said his brother was ­always the type to dive headfirst into any situation where he could help, and think of himself second.

It wasn’t any special training but an innate protective instinct, he added.

“That’s the way we were raised,” Paul said. “We’ve got good values, and we’re going to help.

“It was very brave of my ­brother, but I think it was just his protective instinct and the way we are as human beings, we’re just like ‘Let’s go and help’.”

Paul was visibly in shock after the attack.

“We went into what was essentially a danger zone, but we were also quite calculated in what was a split (second),” Paul said.

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“It was a run, it was abut 200m, and we were asking the questions: ‘Has he got a gun? Has he got a knife? He’s got a knife, OK sweet, there’s two of us, there’s one of him.’ ”

Despite the attacker’s horrific acts and the fear he created in the heart of the CBD, Paul, a proud Christian, was cautious of labelling him a religious radical, to avoid causing division.

“It’s not religious, it’s radicalism,” he said.

“I think it is divisive if I say something more than that. I’m a religious guy myself, I’m Christian and I’m proud of it.

“Everyone has a different term, but that is radicalism. That is not normal faith, that is extremist-type stuff.”

The two brothers — originally from Manchester, England, the city where a terrorist detonated a bomb at an Ariana Grande concert in 2017 — moved to Sydney in 2015 to start their own recruitment company. They had previously spoken about what they would do in the event of a terror attack, ­saying Sydney had been lucky while European cities had borne the brunt of multiple attacks in quick succession. Today put their theories to the test: they ran into the danger, while others fled to safety.

“We had a kind of role-played (if) there was an attack in Sydney — not role-played but (we) thought about it just because all the other major cities have been attacked,” Paul said.

“My brother shouted ‘It’s happening — it’s a terrorist attack’.”

Police praised the men, saying lives were saved by their everyday heroism and that Australia had gained three new heroes.

NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said the men were of “the highest order of heroes”.

NSW Police Minister David ­Elliot said of the men’s bravery: “This is how Sydneysiders ­respond.”

Mr Elliot said he would personally ensure the firefighter who “went beyond the call of duty” and helped detain the attacker would receive the appropriate accolades for his actions.