The incident occurred around 2:15 AM on 2/6 when Pham The Huy Hoang and a friend were traveling from a motorcycle repair shop on Trung Luc street, Hai An District, to get a late-night meal. Upon reaching the Lach Tray street area, Hoang noticed a man holding two sharp knives, acting erratically as if under the influence of drugs, walking while cursing and threatening passersby.

"When he reached the Quan Mau intersection, he lunged at a sticky rice vendor couple. Fortunately, the husband reacted quickly and chased the man away", Hoang recalled.

Hoang sprays the fire extinguisher at the assailant attacking the woman. *Photo: Xuan Hoa*

Hoang observed the man continue walking towards Lach Tray stadium, brandishing the weapons and threatening anyone he encountered. Near the city war memorial, the assailant directly attacked a woman riding a motorcycle. The victim, in a panic, fled into the middle of the street but was still pursued.

Seeing the woman's life in immediate danger, Hoang rushed to protect her, throwing his helmet forcefully at the man to distract him, but it was ineffective.

Undeterred, the young man quickly ran to a nearby gas station, borrowed a large fire extinguisher, and sprayed it forcefully. This disoriented the man, causing him to stop and release the victim.

According to Hoang, during the incident, many passersby hesitated to help the victim because the assailant was aggressive and armed with knives.

As the man continued towards the Thanh Doi intersection, Hoang and his friend took the woman, who had sustained multiple stab wounds and lost a lot of blood, to Viet Tiep Friendship Hospital for emergency treatment.

"I feared that if I didn't intervene in time, the victim would be killed. At that moment, I wasn't scared; I only thought about how to distract the knife-wielding man to save the woman. If I encountered this situation again, I would still do the same", Hoang stated.

This was not the first time Hoang had rescued someone. A few months prior, he successfully rescued a young man attempting to jump from Hoang Van Thu bridge.

According to the Hai Phong City Police, the knife-wielding assailant was identified as Phan Tuan Hung, 46, residing in Ngo Quyen Ward. When police arrived at the scene, Hung fiercely resisted, severing the hand tendon of Captain Nguyen Duc Thinh. Authorities subsequently surrounded and successfully apprehended Hung as he ran towards the Lach Tray stadium gate.

Currently, the female victim is out of critical condition and has been transferred to a higher-level hospital in Hanoi for continued treatment.

Le Tan