A DAD has praised his “hero” puppy after a crazed knifeman allegedly slashed a man in the face and punched a taxi passenger.
Mars, a six-month-old puppy, distracted the suspect as the chaos unfolded on a residential street near Brighton seafront on Saturday evening.
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Sillwood Road in Brighton was cordoned off on Saturday after the shocking incident Credit: Eddie Mitchell
A dad has praised his ‘hero’ puppy for saving his son’s lifeCredit: Refer to source
A 33-year-old man assaulted and injured two men before he went on to chase and grab hold of a dog on Sillwood Street just before 6pm.
The knifeman was then tackled to the ground by heroic members of the public who held him off until officers arrived on the scene.
An onlooker who feared being attacked has now said his dog was the “hero of the day”.
He said his puppy allowed him and his five-year-old son to flee to safety after he saw a man “waving the knife”.
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Cops rushed to reports of a knifeman threatening to stab people just before 6pm Credit: Eddie Mitchell
A 33-year-old was arrested after the attack Credit: Eddie Mitchell
After leaving his house with Mars and his son, he spotted a man running alongside a taxi.
He said: “A man was holding the taxi window open and running with the car which was unusual.
“The taxi accelerated down the street so he had to let go. Then he looked like he was looking for the next person to attack.
“He was waving the knife, which was very big, approaching us and shouting something.”
The man described how he was in a vulnerable position because he did not have a free hand, so was forced to let go of his dog to find safety.
He said: “I grabbed my son and ran with him to Uncle Sam’s burger restaurant.
“I was fortunate because the attention shifted for two seconds towards the dog, who he started shouting at.”
He said those few seconds gave him just enough time to get his son to safety and, after the chaos, he returned to find Mars surrounded by people.
“When I got back Mars was shaking, and was surrounded by 12 people with blood all over his fur,” he continued.
“The suspect was on the ground. People were worried about the dog and thought he should go to the vet.
“I was worried Mars had been killed but luckily he wasn’t hurt. Mars is the hero from yesterday.
“I gave Mars a large beef bone yesterday evening after the incident, he loves bones.”
A 29-year-old man was taken to hospital after his face and ear were slashed but he was later discharged.
The second victim, a 28-year-old man, said he was taken to hospital by the taxi driver and stayed there for several hours.
The taxi passenger said: “I was in a taxi coming back from my friend’s house and the taxi pulled up and a guy out of nowhere came through the taxi window and hit me in the eye, it hurt loads and my eye felt really weird.
“I didn’t know what happened and the taxi driver said, ‘You’ve got blood all over you.’
“He said, ‘We’re not stopping here,’ and drove me to hospital.
“Everyone was telling me ‘he’s got a knife’ and I could see it in his hand. I was just lucky it wasn’t a machete.”
He added: “I was at the hospital for four or five hours and the sun was setting by the time I got back.”
A 33-year-old man, who lives locally, was arrested for assault occasioning grievous bodily harm with intent and he remains in custody.
Detective Inspector Stephen Taylor said: “This was a distressing and serious incident and the victims are being supported by officers.
“A thorough investigation is underway to ensure we have a full picture of what happened.
“Witnesses have come forward and we thank them for helping us in our investigation.”
