Business

Funds flow for Melbourne homeless ‘trolleyman’ hero

AAP & Third Sector November 13, 2018

2 min read

More than $114,000 has been raised for a brave homeless man in Melbourne dubbed “trolleyman” who helped police during the Bourke Street terror attack.

Michael Rogers, 46, used a shopping trolley to ram Hassan Khalif Shire Ali as police officers tried to disarm the Somali-born radical before fatally shooting him on Friday.

“I threw the trolley straight at him, and I got him. I didn’t quite get him down, though. I’m no hero,” Mr Rogers told Seven News.

More than 4,000 people have donated to the online fundraising effort since it was launched by registered charity Melbourne Homeless Collective on Saturday.

“Our hero is humble as can be and had no idea about this fundraiser. We’ll be catching up tomorrow to hand over his donations. He is amazing,” the GoFundMe page reads.

“We believe his efforts deserve a reward that can really help him out,” it said.

Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton said Rogers’ help was “greatly appreciated” by the police on the scene on Friday.

“There’s no doubt he acted bravely,” he told ABC radio.

“His assistance was greatly appreciated.”

However, Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said while the man acted on instinct, his intervention could have led to a tragic outcome.

“I don’t like to criticise people in that situation, he’s acting instinctively about what he’s looking at in front of him,” Ashton told Melbourne radio 3AW on Monday.

“But certainly if a trolley had hit a police member and knocked him over and then this offender was on top of him, it could have had a tragic consequence.

“Luckily in this case, it didn’t.

“I think he was trying to support the police in his own way, so I haven’t been jumping on him over the weekend.”

Shire Ali stabbed three men before being shot in the chest by a police officer he threatened with a knife.

Sisto Malaspina, a 74-year-old Italian restaurateur, died at the scene. Two others are recovering in Royal Melbourne Hospital.