A taxi driver in the English city of Liverpool is being praised worldwide on Monday after a quick-thinking decision to lock a would-be suicide bomber in his cab and prevent what could have been an “awful disaster.”
The bomber, who has not been publicly named by authorities, died alone at the scene of what could have been a terrible situation — but not before he was thwarted by David Perry, the heroic taxi driver.
The terrorist had allegedly been trying to cause a horrific incident at Liverpool Women’s Hospital during the city’s Remembrance Sunday event, according to Liverpool’s city mayor.
The day began unexpectedly when Perry (pictured above, inset) picked up the unidentified man in the Rutland Avenue area of Liverpool, and took him to the Women’s Hospital, which was about 10 minutes away. The cab pulled up to the hospital just before 11:00 a.m. local time, right as the national two minutes’ silence for Remembrance Day was set to begin.
As the taxi arrived at the hospital’s drop-off area, Perry apparently became aware of the man’s attempt at setting off some type of device that he’d been carrying with him to the site. Thinking quickly, Perry locked the man in the cab so that he couldn’t get out and detonate the device inside the hospital.
Perry was then thankfully able to escape the car with very minor injuries, moments before the taxi went up in flames. The alleged terrorist was killed in the bombing and ensuing fire. Perry did not suffer life-threatening injuries, according to local news reports; he has since been discharged from the hospital. Authorities have also since declared the event a terrorist incident.
Praising the cabbie for his presence of mind to alter what could have been an awful situation, Liverpool Mayor Joanne Anderson told the media (below):
“The taxi driver in his heroic efforts has managed to divert what could have been an absolutely awful disaster.”
A GoFundMe account has since been established to support Perry financially in the aftermath of his heroic act to avert terrorism; it has since raised more than $20,000 in his name. Jenny Phillilps, one of the organizers of the online fundraiser, told the Liverpool Echo (below):
“It’s simply to help a family and a good guy who didn’t deserve this, and has a lot of recovery to do but deserves a medal for his actions. We waited until we knew more details of what had happened and we were shocked.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson also praised Perry’s actions, saying (below):
“It does look as though the taxi driver in question did behave with incredible presence of mind and bravery.”
Police have since arrested four other men under the Terrorism Act, with MI5 and a regional counter-terrorism unit conducting investigations into people who allegedly may have helped the bomber plan the attack.
Here’s more on the inspiring and heroic acts of the cabbie to avert what could have otherwise been a truly terrible situation, from the BBC (below):
Wow.
You can support Perry’s GoFundMe account HERE.
So thankful that Perry is safe and OK, and nobody in the hospital was injured or killed in what otherwise could have been an unthinkable tragedy.
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