Hero Who Died Using Skateboard To Save People From London Bridge Terrorists Is To Be Made A Saint

On June 3, 2017, Ignacio Echeverra, 39, was walking through Borough Market near London Bridge when he witnessed a man assaulting a police officer and then a woman.

Before taking on another terrorist who was assaulting a police officer, the former banker used his skateboard to ward off the attacker and distract him while other people fled to safety.

Mr Echeverra, who was born in Spain, was then stabbed twice in the back by a third terrorist and died as a result of his injuries.

According to The Times, following an outpouring of accolades for his bravery in Spain and the United Kingdom, his family is now pursuing formal recognition as a saint.

Following an open letter from Pope Francis following the attack, his relatives were approached by Juan Antonio Martnez Camino, the auxiliary bishop of Madrid, to pursue canonization.

The Pope wrote: 'The heroic offering of life, suggested and sustained by charity, expresses a true, complete and exemplary imitation of Christ and, therefore, deserves the admiration that the community of the faithful usually reserves for those who have voluntarily accepted martyrdom of blood or have heroically exercised Christian virtues.'

He went on to say that those who 'offer their lives voluntarily and freely for others' are worthy of distinction.

Mr. Echeverra has already won a number of posthumous awards, including the Spanish Order of Civil Merit and the George Medal, which the Queen conferred on his parents.

Before working for HSBC in London as a money-laundering investigator, Mr. Echeverra studied law at the Complutense University in Madrid, then at the Sorbonne in Paris.

His Catholic faith has had a significant impact on his life, and he volunteered for the Catholic Action organization.

According to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, an association dedicated to promoting his path to sainthood was set up last November.

A fan of skateboarding since he was a child, pictures, and videos of Mr. Echeverria were featured in many Spanish media outlets after his death and two skateboard parks have also been named after him in Madrid and Alicante.

Terrorists Khuram Butt, 27, Rachid Redouane, 30, and Youssef Zaghba, 22, plowed into people on London Bridge on June 3, 2017, before attacking random members of the public with pink 12-inch ceramic knives.

During the attack, Butt moved up to a running tap, passed his knife under water to clean off the blood, and wiped it, first on one side of his face, then the other, in what was later described as a "chilling gesture."

Before confronting unarmed police officers shouting 'Allahu Akbar,' Zaghba and Butt removed their jackets to show fake suicide vests.

After less than 10 minutes, the attackers were shot and killed by City of London Police marksmen.

Mr. Echeverria was the eighth and final victim of the incident, which left 48 people gravely injured.

After being struck by the van on the bridge, Christine Archibald, 30, and Xavier Thomas, 45, perished.

Stabbings occurred at the Boro Bistro on the South Bank, with Alexandre Pigeard, 26, Sara Zelenak, 21, Kirsty Boden, 28, Sebastien Belanger, 36, and James McMullan, 32.

The attack bore 'striking similarities' to two later incidents involving known extremists.

On November 29, 2019, convicted terrorist Usman Khan, who had been released on parole, attacked five people, two of whom died, at Fishmongers' Hall.

On February 2, 2020, two people were injured in Streatham by knifeman Sudesh Amman, who had previously been jailed for having and sharing terrorist documents in 2018.