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This is the moment a dad tackles a knifeman just a year after his 14-year-old son was stabbed to death.
The man was threatening a girl in Julius Cools’ Caribbean takeaway in south London when he stepped in to remove the machete-sized blade.
Last November, Julius’ son Jermaine was fatally stabbed near West Croydon train station.
He was the youngest person to be stabbed and killed on London’s streets in 2021, a year in which 30 teenagers lost their lives.
Mr Cools was captured on CCTV wrestling the attacker clad in a black jacket with a hood over his head.
The pair roll into a set of chairs and tables and bundle into the counter before he yanks the knife away and orders him to leave Cools Kitchen in South Norwood.
‘I don’t know where I got the energy from, but I just did. He could have stabbed me, I don’t know,’ he said.
Julius Cools confronts the man in his Caribbean takeaway unaware he was armed (Picture: SWNS)
Julius Cools tackles the knifeman and wrestles the blade off him (Picture: SWNS)
Jermaine Cools, 14, was the youngest fatal stab victim in London last year (Picture: PA)
Julius Cools said he has ‘no fear’ since his son was killed (Picture: Sky News)
He now claims the police didn’t seem interested in looking at the footage and the knifeman remains at large.
In a statement, the Met Police said the suspect could not be identified from the video and the investigation is closed.
Mr Cools said nobody helped Jermaine when he died but he tried to help the girl.
He added: ‘All I was thinking that day was that the girl could have died in the same way in my shop.
‘I was doing it to protect that girl, she was only 16 or 17, she has her whole life ahead of her.
‘We live in a world where if you leave your house, you don’t know if you are going back home. This is the life we are living now.
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‘These young kids don’t care. They will kill you and laugh about it. They do not care. They have no Lord in their heart.
‘All I am saying to people now is to be careful, kids and adults, anyone can get killed any time, any day.
‘I am not scared of them, I don’t care. Since I lost my son last year, I have no fear.’
A police spokesperson said: ‘The occupant in the shop was spoken to – he was not injured. He did not wish to engage with police but advised the incident had been captured on CCTV.
‘CCTV of the incident was viewed but the male could not be identified.
‘At this time the investigation is closed but any further information will be assessed and investigated accordingly.’
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Julius Cools said he has ‘no fear’ since his son was killed.