A teacher who was stabbed by a group of kids, some in school uniform, was just two weeks into his new job. The attack happened just yards from Forest Gate School in east London on Tuesday afternoon.
A woman who works as a dispenser at Sharman’s Pharmacy, but asked not to be named, said: “He ran inside and said, ‘Help! I’m a teacher at the school and I’ve just been stabbed.’
“There was blood all over the floor. He had been stabbed in the back. We quickly called the police and the ambulance, and a man from the health centre over the road came to help.”
A hero health centre worker gave first aid after the male teacher was stabbed in the back with a long knife.
Dr Parvesh Patel, a pharmacist at Sharman’s sister shop Mansons Pharmacy, added: “I guess he thought a pharmacy was the safest place to be.”
Gulzarin Iqbal, 27, ended up covered in blood after tending to the wounded man whilst waiting for the emergency services.
Mr Iqbal, a physician associate at the nearby Lord Lister Health Centre, said: “I had finished with patients for the day and was doing paperwork when I heard people arguing outside. It sounded like a man and a group of younger people.
“Their voices were raised, but I thought it might be just a normal altercation – it is east London. But then I heard someone scream and so I ran outside to see what was happening.
“By this time the group had gone, but I could see people in the pharmacy. I ran across the road and there was a man lying face down on the floor. There was a lot of blood.
“He was a teacher at the school – apparently he had only started a couple weeks ago. He said he was familiar with some of the kids, but not all. Some were students in uniform and some weren’t, apparently.
“He said he had been stabbed with a long knife, but I didn’t see it. I immediately applied pressure to the wound, which was on his back. There’s always the worry of death after a stabbing, as people can bleed out. You just never know what the outcome is going to be.
“The people at the pharmacy called the police and ambulance, and when the police turned up, I told the officer to apply pressure so I could go get supplies from the health centre.
“By this point my arms were covered in blood. I brought back a defibrillator, just in case, and a heart monitor to check his vitals. The ambulance arrived about five minutes later.”
Mr Iqbal added: “I just did what anyone else would have done.” He described the victim as an “African male, in his 40s, of average build.”
Police said the man’s injuries are not life-threatening.
