Here’s Why Michael Rogers Is Being Hailed a Hero after Last Week’s Melbourne Attack

Michael Rogers otherwise known as the “Trolleyman” played a crucial role to stop the much talked about “Friday’s attack” that took place in Melbourne, Australia last week. Today his actions are being applauded as he did his best to pull down the suspect. On Friday afternoon, suspect Shire Ali pulled up in Bourke Street in a four-wheel vehicle that contained gas cylinders. The gas cylinders were in open positions as the suspect had intentions to blow up the vehicle which evidently failed. One can fathom the immense loss of lives if Ali’s evil intentions had worked in his favor.

Ali, 30, who is originally from Somalia, then went on a stabbing rampage and in the process stabbed three men. One of the victims who lost his life was 74-year-old Italian restaurant owner Sisto Malaspina. The other two victims, however, were lucky enough to survive the tragedy and are now taking treatment at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. In one of the graphic videos, Ali can be seen chasing and threatening the police with a knife in one of the busiest streets of Melbourne.

All the while Michael Rogers kept wheeling and pushing the shopping carts towards Ali that were placed nearby probably to distract him, thereby giving the police an opportunity to pull him down. In one of the clips, Michael was seen falling down while battling with Ali. If Michael desired, he could have easily fled and escaped the deadly scene however he chose to stay and deal with the culprit.

After battling with the brave policemen for a long time near the stores, Ali chased policemen across the street. This time Michael pushed the trolley across the street towards the attacker however the brawl ended with a loud gunshot. A policeman who was only three months out of the academy shot Ali in his chest. Ali’s end came about when he succumbed to his injuries in a hospital. He was known to have radical views and was inspired by ISIS though he didn’t have a direct link to the terror group.

Citizens of Australia were quick to identify Michael Rogers’ efforts and bravery when a video went viral that showed Rogers doing his best to pull the attacker down. An online GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help the homeless man. On Monday, the fund received more than AU$100,000 (US$72,000) which was double the target they aimed to achieve. More than 3700 people have contributed to the campaign.

Speaking of his act, Rogers told Channel Seven "I was scared, I was scared for myself, I have seen the trolley to the side, so I've picked it up and I ran and threw the trolley straight at him. I did that motion ... quite a number of times, but it just wasn't getting him down." Rogers insisted he was "not a hero, but I feel that I've probably saved some lives, maybe."

The policemen too were caught in a deadly situation however they got their act together and got down a criminal who was a threat to society. Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said that the policemen performed their job effectively as per their training. “We don’t train people to wound people with firearms, you’re trained to shoot to kill, not to shoot to wound”, he spoke of the policemen’s duties.