A British citizen has shown how a simple act of responsible awareness can end up preventing a huge national crisis. Using his presence of mind to lock a suicide bomber inside the cab, its driver saved the lives of thousands of people who were on target.
Cab driver saves uncountable lives in Britain:
In what seems to be a terrorist attack, a taxi with a man strapped with explosives trapped inside blew up outside a women’s hospital in Liverpool city of Britain. According to the local police, the man who was killed in the attack is believed to be a suicide bomber who had come to blow up an event.
According to a report by The Telegraph, the alleged suicide bomber had hired a cab to reach the Anglican Cathedral. David Perry, the man driving the cab started to sense something fishy when he saw the man behaving weirdly in the rear-view mirror. He soon suspected that man may be carrying a bomb with him.
As soon as the cab reached to Women’s hospital, the bomber asked David to open the gate as he wanted to go outside. David however was quick on his feet and jumped out of the car, in turn locking the bomber in. Within a few seconds of him jumping out, the bomb inside the car exploded and killed the suicide bomber. The bomb explosion also ended up injuring David. But his injuries were not threatening, and doctors said that he is safe.
Nick Aldworth, a former counter-terror coordinator said, “They’ll be looking at what sort of damage has been caused, trying to get an assessment of what might have caused that blast, I have to say from what I’ve seen there is very little blast damage — a lot of fire damage but very little blast damage. So whatever was in that vehicle was either a low yield or didn’t work properly or was possibly an incendiary.”
Three arrested amid speculations on deliberate disruption of Remembrance Day parade:
Meanwhile, counter-terrorism officers have arrested three people in connection with the suicide bombing. The three men aged 21, 26, and 29 have been arrested under the Terrorism act from the Kensington area of the city.
The police are currently investigating the originally intended timing of the attack. The timing is significant, as it happened exactly at 10: 59 AM, one minute before the remembrance Sunday, which the British administration marks to remember the soldiers who died serving the British crown in the past. The list also includes Indian soldiers who died during the two world wars when they were forced to fight for British Empire.
Lone wolf trying to disrupt the parade or Islamic terror plot?
It is being speculated from the destination of the cab that the suicide bombing was planned to take place exactly at 11 AM. The original destination Anglican Cathedral is the place where the remembrance parade ended and a memorial remembering thousands of veterans took place. When the cab got late, he changed his destination to the city centre. However, when the clock ticked near 11 AM, he tried to get off near women’s hospital, another place where a large number of people can be targeted. But the cabbie did not allow him to succeed and locked him in. As the bomber found himself locked, he blew the car along with himself.
If the attack turns out to be organised by a single person, then it could lead to a crackdown on online propaganda. While if it turns out to be a full-blooded organised terror plot, then it could open a can of worms in regards to the anti-terrorism measures adopted by Britain after facing various Islamic bombings during the last two decades.
The patriotic and responsible act by David has opened a debate around rights vs responsibilities in the whole world. 70 years of liberal world order has emphasized only demanding the rights from the society for an individual, while it has relied on either demonising or ignoring those who play their responsible role in the society. Whatever be the investigations’ results turn out; David Perry should be hailed as a hero.