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The man being hailed as the 'trolley hero' in deadly Bourke Street attack

A brave bystander dubbed “Trolley Man” has been praised for his selfless actions in his attempt to halt a knife-wielding man who’d stabbed three people in Melbourne’s Bourke Street.

Moments after a ute went up in flames at about 4.20pm on Friday, police shot the man as he swiped at officers with a knife.

Dramatic footage captured from the scene shows officers try to apprehend the man following his stabbing attack.

“Trolley man” rushes at the man wielding a knife. Source: Twitter
“Trolley man” rushes at the man wielding a knife. Source: Twitter

While officers involved have been praised online for their quick response to the horrific incident, it was the courageous actions of a man with a trolley that caught the eye of many.

“Trolley Man, the hero Australia needs,” one woman said on Twitter shortly after a series of videos of the attack began to circulate online.

In footage the man in a black t-shirt can be seen ramming the trolley in the direction of the attacker.

At one point, the man is knocked off his feet. Source: Twitter
At one point, the man is knocked off his feet. Source: Twitter

He relentlessly thrusts the trolley at the man as he swings a knife in the direction of officers.

At one point, the man is sent tumbling onto his back during the altercation.

But undeterred by his tumble, the man charges down the street with the trolley once more as the altercation moves across the road.

Undeterred, the man charges again with the trolley. Source: Twitter
Undeterred, the man charges again with the trolley. Source: Twitter

“Respects to Trolley Man and also to those very calm cops who remained very professional and surely prevented more people from being injured,” one person wrote online.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews led the online praise of the officers and the passers-by who “came to the aid of complete strangers”.

One man died in hospital and two others were injured after they were stabbed by the attacker.

The attacker, who moved to Australia from Somalia in the 90s, succumbed to a gunshot wound to the chest, dying in hospital half an hour after his arrival.

Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton has confirmed police are treating the attack as a terrorism incident.