The Stranger Who Saved Us During A Shooting
By: C S Bhambra
Tags: Gun Violence, Crime, London, Survivor, Guns

It was like a scene out of a movie

Image taken by Alliane Schwartzhaupt on Unspalsh

As we walked towards the DJ, a stranger aggressively grabbed my arm… the strange thing about this was I never reacted as I would’ve usually done at my young age of 18!

Something happened inside me, it was like an intense impulse to do the same thing…

As I was grabbed, I grabbed one of my friends who then grabbed our other one and like a domino effect, we were pulled away from the middle of the dance floor.

Bizarrely, my friends and I ducked down. It was like we had lost control of our bodies and something was controlling our actions. Or perhaps our subconscious took over aware of what was occurring, slapping our conscious mind out the way to act obediently without a question.

Seconds later, we heard several gun shots, they were overpowering and frightening, I had never heard them in real life before this night.

It was like time slowed down, we watched in shock as people ducked down (into our very position)whilst a few jumped in different directions. We could see it all & heard the piercing screams, I don’t even remember hearing any music at this point.

All of a sudden, the reactions of the people transformed and sped up like a whirlwind, people began fighting, shouting, throwing the pool balls at one another, pushing, dragging and trampling on others’ backs. From the far back people were being dragged, pushed and right where we were rescued from, there were a pile of bodies crushing one another while people smashed others' heads underfoot frantically trying to escape. It was terrifying and I can only imagine the pain and fear those right in the middle of it felt.

We looked at one another, as shock froze our bodies in place.

I turned my face to thank the stranger who ultimately saved us from getting our heads smashed into the ground and squashed by others. I was faced with the wall, no exit, no way of escape…no one there… We were literally by ourselves hidden while the chaos unravelled. More gun shots penetrated through our eardrums, it was horrific.

My mind quickly focused on how to safely get us out, the crowds moved towards us with panic filled faces. We saw people covered in blood, ripped clothes and security trying to calm the crowd down.

As I write this I keep wondering how we got out eventually, my mind grasps at straws. All I remember is that we did as well as most in the bar.

We never told our parents

We knew if there was any hint of what happened, our parents would’ve panicked, been scared to let us out into the world.

We were a few months away from beginning our lives at university, living on campus, over 24 miles away. We didn’t want to burden our parents with worry or doubt. Plus we wanted to live independently and experience life on our terms.

The main thing I remember saying to my mum was that I didn’t want my younger siblings to continue growing up in London. I didn’t think it was the best thing for them. Coincidentally my parents had been planning to move from London so these shared thoughts perhaps sealed the deal.

That night is still so surreal…

I’m still closely in touch with one of those friends and still so many years later we speak about this night. We can only say that the stranger must’ve been some sort of divine intervention...

We’re both so thankful to that stranger.

Thank you for rescuing us! How did you know?

There’s so many vivid parts of that night that come back to me. There’s so many unanswered questions…

What made us react in an orderly way prior to the shooting? Why/How did time slow down for us three? Why us? Who survived? Who fired the shots? Were any arrested?

Even though we can only make assumptions to any of those questions, when we are given the chance to tell the story we have to have gratitude!

When you are given another day, be grateful. There are many lives who are no longer here, tragically many taken to violence.

London’s gun & knife crime is soaring daily since I was a young adult. These crimes have stolen a multitude of lives, young & old. We will never forget.

Live life to the fullest and be the best you that you can be.

Live In Peace