London terror attack: quick-thinking Feng Sushi staff save customers
Quick-thinking members of staff at Feng Sushi restaurant in Borough Market managed to fight off a terrorist and protect their customers during Saturday night's terror attack in London.
Eight people were killed and 48 injured during the attack, which started at around 10pm on Saturday night.
The attack saw a white hire van hit pedestrians on London Bridge at about 10pm, before three men got out and stabbed people in nearby Borough Market.
Staff at Feng Sushi, on Stoney Street, were just finishing their shift when they heard what sounded to them like a scuffle outside.
The chef left the restaurant to see what was going on and was confronted by the horrific scenes of the attack. He spotted one of the attackers wielding a knife and instinctively ran back into the restaurant and shouted for the manager to help close the doors.
"It was an incredibly decision to make because just as they closed the door, one of the attackers tried to get in, shouting ‘this is for Allah'," Sophie MacDonald, head of marketing and e-commerce at the company told The Caterer.
"They literally just got the door locked in time, saving people from being very seriously injured or even killed. We are very proud of them because instead of choosing to run, which would have been a very natural decision to make, they went back and decided to close the doors."
There were three customers in the restaurant at the time, and they all proceeded down to the basement to get away from the attackers who were on the other side of the door. The attackers could still be heard trying to get in but after a time the police arrived and told them they needed to evacuate the area.
The three attackers were later shot dead by police.
It is not known at this stage when the restaurant will re-open. Police are currently gathering forensic evidence.
"We hope they will be open again sooner rather than later," MacDonald said. "We want to show the attackers that they won't stop us from doing what we love to do, which is to give great customer service. We don't want them to disrupt our lives more than they already have."
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