A father of four has spoken of the moment he sprinted towards three machete-wielding teenagers brawling in a south London park, saying he was driven to intervene because when he looked at the hooded youngsters, he saw his own 17-year-old son.
Hammed Danmole was taking a break from a football match in Burgess Park, southeast London, on 17 May when he spotted two hooded youths walk past him. A third arrived on a scooter and the trio began arguing before drawing blades. As the brawl escalated, the three teenagers began swinging machetes at one another, with one of them pinned to the ground and set upon by the others while bystanders filmed on their phones. Rather than retreat, Danmole ran towards them screaming at them to stop. His intervention forced all three to flee before anyone suffered serious injury.
Speaking to The Times, the property investor — who moved to London from Nigeria in 2000 and lives in Beckenham — said he did not hesitate once he saw the danger. “I’ve got a 17-year-old boy and when I looked at them, I saw him,” he said. “I would do anything to stop these young boys from killing each other.” He acknowledged that others had told him afterwards he should not have put himself at risk, but was unequivocal about his decision. “If I didn’t stop it, and one of those boys died, I wouldn’t have forgotten it for the rest of my life,” he told the paper.
Four teenagers aged 16 and 17 were arrested in connection with the incident. According to a Metropolitan Police spokesperson who spoke to The Sun, three were detained near the scene after officers were called at around 12.30pm, with a police helicopter drafted in to assist in combing the area. A fourth was arrested later that evening after self-presenting at hospital for treatment to wounds, before being detained at a property in Southwark. Two of those arrested suffered injuries described as neither life-threatening nor life-changing. All four were arrested on suspicion of offences including affray, causing grievous bodily harm and possession of an offensive weapon.
Danmole used his experience to make a broader point about knife crime and parenting, telling The Times he did not believe the problem was as acute in Nigeria as it was in the United Kingdom. “These things happen everywhere but it is more common in the UK than in Nigeria,” he said. “You don’t tend to see this crime of very young boys carrying knives because they’d get disciplined straight away.” As a father, he said his approach was straightforward. “I tell my son, ‘If you’re living under my roof, I have to know where you’re going.'”
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact police on 101, quoting CAD 3298/17MAY, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
