A London Ambulance Service paramedic who faced Hainault sword attacker Marcus Monzo while trying to help his victims, has been invited to a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace.
Lachlan Allan, just 21 at the time, was on only his second shift without a mentor when he responded to the emergency in Hainault just before 7am on April 30.
The incident quickly escalated after reports of a stabbing at Hainault Underground Station led him and his crewmate to the scene.
Lachlan said: "There wasn’t anyone there so we drove around until we heard screaming. We jumped out of the ambulance to help."
But as he left the vehicle, sword-wielding Marcus Monzo charged at him and he and his crewmate were forced to take cover inside the ambulance.
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Lachlan said: "We locked the doors, but he kept coming for us. He was grabbing the door handles and smashing his sword against the window, trying to smash through it.
"It was terrifying. We could see he wanted to kill us."
Police were on the way to the scene, but radio communications revealed that officers had also been attacked. They tried to drive away, but were trapped in a dead end. His crewmate managed to turn the ambulance around. Despite their fear, they knew they had to act.
Lachlan continued: "We just looked at each other and knew we had to get back out of the ambulance. We were scared because we knew the attacker was still out there but we had to help."
London Ambulance Service declared a significant incident as more crews arrived. They treated five patients and took them to hospital, including 13-year-old Daniel Anjorin, who died at hospital.
The garden party invitation at Buckingham Palace, set for Wednesday, May 8, is in recognition of Lachlan’s courage and service.
He said: "It is such an honour to be invited to the Royal Garden Party. It will be a very special occasion although it comes in the context of a very sad day.
"My thoughts remain with everyone affected and I feel very humbled and immensely proud of how our crews and the other emergency services responded in such difficult and tragic circumstances."
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