Luke Rapela had only been part of the London Ambulance service for a year before he was confronted by a man with a knife
A London Ambulance worker has described the moment he stopped a man from attacking a mum and daughter with a knife. Luke Rapela, who only joined the service a year ago, jumped into action after seeing the incident unfold.
The father of two was driving through Battersea, south London, when a woman ran out of a house and into the road in front of his ambulance, screaming and visibly distressed. After getting out and stopping the ambulance, he then saw a man approaching with a ’50cm’ long knife’.
Luke said: “It was a kitchen knife, but the biggest I’ve ever seen, and he was shouting that he was going to kill me. I called for police on my radio and told him to stay back. He then turned and kicked the door of the house open.”
It was at that moment that the woman screamed that her daughter was in the house. Luke then ran into the house and confronted the man who started ‘threatening’ him, saying that he would ‘stab him’.
Luke, who previously worked in security, said: “I’ve worked in environments where I’ve had to deal with confrontation and aggression before. In that moment, I just focused on trying to keep him talking and calm. I told him my name, he told me his, I was trying to build a rapport.”
Eventually, Luke de-escalated the situation and calmed the man down until the police arrived. When police arrived, they were ‘surprised’ to see the size of the knife.
“When the police saw the size of the knife, they looked genuinely surprised. At the time, I didn’t really process the danger I was in.
“I just tried to stay calm and keep talking. That was the main thing — keeping him engaged and stopping it escalating further,” Luke added.
Luke has now been awarded a Chief Executive’s commendation. A Chief Executive’s Commendation is a high-level award presented to individuals, often in public service or healthcare, for outstanding performance, exceptional bravery, or significant contributions that go above and beyond their normal duties.
Chief Executive Jason Killens KAM said: “Luke’s actions were exceptionally brave and he showed remarkable presence of mind in an extremely dangerous situation.
“While we would never expect our people to place themselves in harm’s way, we are incredibly proud of him for his commitment and courage.”
Don’t miss out on the biggest local stories. Sign up to our MySouthLondon newsletter HERE for all the latest daily news and more
