A MILLICENT man has been hailed a national hero after swinging a crowbar at the knees of a man wielding a bloodied carving knife in the heart of Sydney this week.
Trevor Rooth is one of three men who have made global headlines for making a dramatic and fearless citizen arrest of a man who allegedly murdered a woman and stabbed a bystander in the back.
After coming face to face with the alleged murderer Mert Ney, Mr Rooth was the first to give chase to the attacker over four city blocks.
Speaking to The Border Watch yesterday, Mr Rooth downplayed national media comments he was a hero.
“I am no hero – I just did what anyone else would have done to prevent harm,” said Mr Rooth, who had a 30cms blade thrust towards him.
In fact, the deadly weapon came within 2cm of his throat and cut his hand.
“If I did not lunge back, I would have ended up in a body bag,” Mr Rooth explained.
During the frantic chase that unfolded, there was also a moment where Mr Rooth believed the perpetrator may have also been harbouring a gun.
The resident – who recently moved to Millicent – said he was in the centre of Sydney on Tuesday with his partner when the terrifying events unfolded.
“I had just bought a packet of smokes and I heard this man yelling religious slogans and he was coming straight for us,” Mr Rooth said.
“It was instinct to protect my partner. I would rather die than have her hurt.”
After narrowly avoiding the large carving knife, Mr Rooth then gave chase down the street that resulted in a frenetic five-minute ordeal.
The heroic chase was captured by a television film crew who were in the area on another assignment.
Mr Rooth said he felt the need to capture the assailant.
“How angry can you get when you see a blade coming towards you? I was scared but had no time to think,” he said.
“Thank God, others like the Westpac banker Jamie Ingram joined in the chase.”
Mr Rooth, along with the others, rushed down the street calling out and warning people to get back inside shops and cafes.
“We could see him putting his hand into his pocket and we thought he was going to pull out gun but it turned out to be a bottle of pills,” Mr Rooth added.
“My heart was pumping and the adrenaline was racing and at one stage I had trouble getting out the words.”
Mr Rooth revealed it was Jamie who eventually brought him to the ground.
“I took out his knees with a crowbar. There was a fire truck nearby and I know where they are stored.
“We put a milk crate across him to stop him from biting.
“I was able to put the police handcuffs on him.”
Unbeknown to Mr Rooth at the time, Mr Ney was suspected of stabbing a woman to death in her apartment a short time earlier.
As a remarkable coincidence, Mr Rooth and his partner had visited the Lindt Café in Martin Place that afternoon to see where a tragic siege had taken place in 2014.
“I got a phone call from my dad in Warrnambool telling me to behave myself.”
After a tumultuous few days, Mr Rooth and his partner returned to Millicent yesterday and would now enjoy some quiet time,
His partner will take a few days break from her employment at a Penola business.
The couple have lived in Millicent for less than two months but are quite settled in the town.
“It is a beautiful place and the people are so welcoming and accepting,” Mr Rooth said.
Mr Rooth is not employed at the moment as he is awaiting surgery on his fractured spine, which was incurred in a workplace incident.
In the meantime, he also enjoys the company of mates at the Sporties Hotel, gardening and fishing from the beach at Canunda.
With the footage of the Sydney knife attack being screened around the nation and beyond, the 35-year-old has heard messages of support friends and family.
He can also take comfort from the words of such authority figures as New South Wales Fire and Rescue Paul McGuiggan.
“The fact these random people could come together to stop this man, that is one of the best demonstrations of the Australian traditions of mateship.”
