Dog walker stabbed to death in Uxbridge as neighbors with bats save victim

Police officers in Midhurst Gardens (Ben Whitley/PA) Ben Whitley

A 49-year-old man was fatally stabbed while walking his dog in Uxbridge on Monday evening, but neighbors armed with baseball bats intervened to save another victim from the attacker. Wayne Broadhurst died in the incident that also left a 45-year-old man with life-changing injuries and injured a 14-year-old boy.

Police arrested a 22-year-old Afghan national at the scene on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. The suspect entered the UK in a lorry in 2020 and was granted asylum in 2022. Footage circulating online appears to show officers using a Taser to subdue the attacker.

Resident Tahira Hassan described how four or five neighbors rushed from their house with baseball bats to protect the injured 45-year-old man. "They were protecting him, so they saved his life. They did a very good job," Hassan told PA news agency. "Maybe he would have died if they didn't protect him."

An anonymous neighbor witnessed the attack unfold during what she described as Broadhurst's routine evening dog walk. She called him "the last person on Earth that you would think somebody would go for" and said: "I still can't get over it. If he was five or 10 minutes later taking the dog out would the same thing have happened?"

Community Response

Around 100 people gathered Tuesday night to lay flowers and light candles at the scene in Midhurst Gardens. The Liverpool FC fan and binman was well-known to neighbors for his daily walks. One resident laying flowers said: "The area used to be lovely, over the years it's really gone downhill."

Chief Superintendent Jill Horsfall called it a "shocking and senseless act of violence that has left one man dead and two others injured." Police deployed multiple officers to provide community reassurance while investigating any relationship between the suspect and victims. The attack is not being treated as terrorism-related.

Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).