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A detective has praised members of the public who stopped a man being assaulted and detained the suspect before police arrived.
At 8.46pm on Friday 19 January, police received a 999 call from a person to report they were witnessing an assault in the street in Milton Crescent, Leicester during which a man was being stamped on his head by another man.
The caller, clearly disturbed by what they were seeing, passed onto the call handler that the man was also being hit to the head with a large stick and that members of the public had then detained the man, but he was attempting to break free.
Officers arrived at the scene at 8.55pm and immediately assisted the injured man, who at this point was unconsciousness and badly bleeding.
A second crew arrived moments after and the suspect, Sambarashe Mushonga, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured man, who was known to Mushonga and had been staying at his flat in the days prior, was taken to hospital. He sustained a significant brain injury but has since spoken to officers.
Mushonga could not recall the incident in his police interview as he admitted he was drunk but he agreed it was him carrying out the assault when he was shown CCTV footage of the incident.
The CCTV also captured Mushonga being detained by the two men as well as a woman who provided first aid assistance to the injured man.
The 37-year-old, of Upper Temple Walk, was charged with attempted murder and remanded into custody. He was also charged with assault after he pushed and ripped the clothing of one of the men who detained him.
He was found guilty of attempted murder and assault by beating at Leicester Crown Court yesterday (Thursday 27 June) and was sentenced to a total of 25 years in prison.
Sambarashe Mushonga
Detective Constable Katie Smith, who was the investigating officer, has paid tribute to those who helped the victim on that evening.
She said: “The victim was subjected to a sustained and brutal attack by Mushonga and when he arrived at hospital, he was in a critical condition.
“It is currently unknown what the prognosis is for any long-term affects he may have suffered from the assault, but we do know that these people undoubtedly contributed to saving his life.
“Despite witnessing such an horrendous act, they acted on impulse and immediately sought to prevent the victim from being further assaulted. They also managed to detain the suspect without thankfully coming to any harm themselves.
“I would like to publicly pay tribute to their selfless actions, and I hope that not only should they be assured in knowing that what they did not only help this man, but it also assisted us in making a quick arrest of a clearly dangerous individual.
“Four of the witnesses who came forward gave evidence during the trial which I am extremely greatful for as this played an integral part in the case.”