Shropshire Star

Briton who went to aid of Finland attack victims heard ‘heart-breaking scream’

Hassan Zubier said he was knifed several times as he tried to defend his girlfriend and save a stranger’s life.

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Stab victim Hassan Zubier attends a minutes silence for the victims of Friday's attack at Turku Market Square

A British man who said he was not a hero after being stabbed in a suspected terror attack in Finland has told how he tried to save a woman’s life after hearing a “heart-breaking scream”.

Hassan Zubier is still in hospital in the city of Turku, 90 miles west of capital Helsinki, after he was wounded in the knife rampage that left two Finnish women dead and others injured.

Mr Zubier, who is believed to be a British-born paramedic now living in Sweden, told the BBC: “I heard a scream, a really heart-breaking scream, so I turned around and there was a man standing over her, stabbing her.”

Finland observed a minute's silence for the victims of the stabbing attack in Turku
Finland observed a minute’s silence for the victims of the stabbing attack in Turku (AP)

He said he was knifed several times as he tried to defend his girlfriend and save a stranger’s life.

“I went back to the girl, but her injuries were too severe. It was a really bad cut so, yeah, we lost her.”

Mr Zubier has received international praise for his bravery in coming to the aid of others, but he insisted: “I’m not a hero, I’m just a person who just can’t look away.”

Speaking on Sunday – two days after the attack – he told Finnish news outlet Iltalehti he feels sad he could not save the woman’s life.

A memorial of candles are placed at the scene of the stabbing attack at the Turku Market Square
A memorial of candles are placed at the scene of the stabbing attack at the Turku Market Square (Vesa Moilanen/AP)

Sat in a wheelchair and with his left arm in a sling, he added: “It’s a sad, sad day, not just for Finland, but for the world, for humanity.”

Four Finns, an Italian and a Swede were also injured in the attack, which Finland’s Security Intelligence Service said was “a likely terror act”.

Police said the suspect, an 18-year-old Moroccan asylum-seeker, who was shot by officers and arrested, appeared to have targeted women. Four other Moroccans have been arrested.

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokeswoman said: “Our staff have offered support to a British man following an incident in Finland.”

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