What is the bravest thing you have ever seen someone do?


In 2013, two Nigerian Immigrants Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale ran down an off-duty soldier by the name of Lee Rigby.


(The victim, Lee Rigby)

Rigby had been a drummer and machine-gunner in the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

After running down Rigby at 30 - 40 mp/hr, the men, Adebolajo and Adebowale, got out of their car and started stabbing him with knives and cleavers - attempting to behead him.


(One of the killers in the immediate aftermath of the attack, hands still bloodied & carrying the blood-dripping cleaver)

Now, this is where it gets incredibly brave.

Passers-by ran over and stood over Rigby’s body, preventing the two from inflicting further injuries.

Ingrid Loyau-Kennett, a cub scout leader, was on a bus but disembarked when she saw what she thought was the immediate aftermath of a traffic accident. She was hoping to help administer medical aid.

Loyau-Kennett later recounted to the Guardian newspaper -

"I went to the body and started to take his pulse," she says, speaking rapidly in a strong French accent. "But a Caribbean lady kneeling by his side said, 'No, no, no, he's dead.'" I asked if she was sure, and she said 'Yes'."

When she saw that Rigby was dead, Loyau-Kennett did something incredible; she walked over and engaged one of the assailants in conversation.

Engaging in conversation is putting it mildly - Loyau-Kennett kept them talking for 10 whole minutes.

Can you imagine that? You are face-to-face with two men you know have just killed someone in broad daylight. They still carry the weapons they used - blood still fresh on the blades.

"Then this black guy said to me, 'Don't touch the body. Go away.'"

She looked up and saw a man and "saw right in front of me two bloodied hands, one carrying a revolver and the other a meat cleaver".

She spent 8-minutes talking to the first killer - they talked about British foreign policy, the murder of Muslims by British soldiers, that he wanted to start a war in London.

"'OK,' I said. 'Do you know what? It's only you and there are many of us. What do you expect out of that?' 'I don't care,' he said. 'I will have my war here.'"

Loyau-Kennett could see the man was becoming more and more agitated; pacing back and forth - so she kept bringing the conversation back on topic, keeping his attention engaged on her.

As the crowd moved closer, the man saw they were recording him with their mobile phones, which annoyed him and made him agitated.

He moved away, so she took the opportunity to approach the second man to engage him in conversation.

'You don't seem very involved in all this.', she told the man.


(Loyau-Kennett, talking with the second attacker, who still is holding his bloodied knife)

She asked if he would like to give her the knife. No, he said. She asked if he would like to sit down - no, no, no he replied, so she went back to engage the first man in conversation.

All throughout this, Loyau-Kennett kept her cool, remained calm, and talked as if she was relaxed. In a Guardian interview (Woolwich attack witness Ingrid Loyau-Kennett: 'I feel like a fraud') she explained that:

"Instinctively, and through my scout training, I like to keep calm and be respectful. So I thought, OK, let's listen to what he has to say. I tried to engage him in a conversation."

The mother of 2 knew her life was at risk, but she knew that if she kept their attention, she could prevent them from attacking anyone else.

Eventually, nearly 10-minutes after the attack started, armed police officers arrived at the scene.

Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale rushed the officers, who opened fire, injuring both, and allowing for both to be arrested without further instances.

Both men were sentenced to whole-life sentences. In 2018, Michael Adebolajo stated that he regretted his actions and apologised for the first time - which was rejected by Rigby’s still-grieving mother and that she will “never forgive him”.

For her actions, Ingrid Loyau-Kennett was reaped with almost universal praise, including from the then-Prime Minister David Cameron, who stood outside 10 Downing Street and saluted her courage for not fleeing or running away and praised her for preventing further injuries or death by engaging the killers in conversation.

Despite all of this, she remained completely humble, telling the Guardian that she felt like a “fraud” for receiving so much praise:

"I feel like a fraud. I don't think I did something courageous. In the second world war, people would do something like this every day."


Ingrid Loyau-Kennett - the woman who single-handily stopped two terrorists from killing more people — by staying extremely calm and engaging them in conversation.

And that, to me, is the bravest thing I’ve seen anyone do - ever.

Cc Dan Stevens from quora

She not meant to be killed that day!

That young guy hopping into that blazing ochanja inferno to rescue victims and goods..

I won't be found 300 metres from that inferno due to fear of explosions or sudden building collapse..

Thank God he lived to tell the story

IamPatriotic:
She not meant to be killed that day!

We are all very close to dying everyday whether we know it or not

Sokosuji:
That young guy hopping into that blazing ochanja inferno to rescue victims and goods..

I won't be found 300 metres from that inferno due to fear of explosions or sudden building collapse..

Thank God he lived to tell the story

I tell you bro. That's another one

A Yoruba man who didnt vote for APC in 2015

@ op, me I thought your questions was local, why copying from quora again?

Op you didn't see, you only heard. :