Yahoo News London Bridge terror victim fought attackers with skateboard as he was stabbed to death
A victim of the London Bridge terror attack attempted to fight off the terrorists with a skateboard to protect another woman as he was stabbed to death.
An inquest into the death of the eight people who died was told how Ignacio Echeverria courageously fought back as he was brutally murdered on June 3 2017.
The chief coroner said eight people were killed and 48 more were seriously injured in less than 10 minutes of “high and terrible drama” during the London Bridge and Borough Market terror attack.
The victims were Christine Archibald, 30, Xavier Thomas, 45, Alexandre Pigeard, 26, Sara Zelenak, 21, Kirsty Boden, 28, Sebastien Belanger, 36, James McMullan, 32, and Ignacio Echeverria, 39.Their attackers, Khuram Butt, 27, Rachid Redouane, 30, and Youssef Zaghba, 22, were shot dead by police at the scene.
The attack came just three months after Khalid Masood mowed down pedestrians on Westminster Bridge in a hired car before stabbing a police officer to death.
Mark Lucraft QC addressed the families of the eight victims killed in the 2017 atrocity on the first day of an inquest in a packed court one at the Old Bailey on Tuesday.
He expressed his condolences as he said: “The lives of many people were torn apart by what took place in less than 10 minutes of high and terrible drama.”
Mr Lucraft said: “It is important to acknowledge that many lives were saved by the rapid response of members of the public and members of the emergency services.
“A number of those were eyewitnesses to the unfolding drama and will give evidence of what they saw.”
Mr Lucraft QC told the court that he hoped the inquest would answer the “obvious and understandable questions” of the relatives of those who died and give the bereaved families some comfort.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick, the head of UK counter-terrorism policing Neil Basu and the Commissioner of City of London Police Ian Dyson joined the families in standing for one minute’s silence.
Canadian Christine Archibald told her fiance that she loved him and gave him a passionate kiss moments before she was killed on London Bridge.
The 30-year-old was visiting the capital for a short trip while her partner, Tyler Ferguson, was in the UK for work.
On the night of the attack in June 2017, the couple had been out for a "celebratory" dinner after he had a particularly successful day.
Mr Ferguson said: "We decided to walk over London Bridge. At one point Chrissy stopped me out of nowhere, gave me a passionate kiss and told me she loved me.
"Then the attack happened and Chrissy was killed."
In an emotional tribute, James Hodder said he was "completely floored" by girlfriend Kirsty Boden, who was from the small town of Loxton, in South Australia, when she moved to London in 2013.
Ms Boden, a senior staff nurse, died as she ran towards the attackers, she was dining with friends at Boro Bistro when she heard the sound of the van crashing before running to try to help.
Mr Hodder said: "Her actions on that night didn't surprise anyone who knew her. To Kirsty it would not have seemed brave.
"She loved people and loved her life helping others. To Kirsty, her actions that night would have been an extension of how she lived her life.”
Families will also want answers to how Butt was able to plan and carry out the attack whilst he was under investigation by security services.
Another issue likely to be raised by lawyers acting for the relatives of the victims is the lack of security checks required to hire rental vehicles after cars and lorries were used as weapons in Nice, Berlin and Westminster Bridge.
Xavier Thomas, 45, was thrown into the River Thames, where his body was recovered downstream three days later - while his partner of two years, Christine Delcros, was struck and seriously injured in the attack.
She wept as she paid an emotional tribute to Mr Thomas in French from the witness box on Tuesday as the court heard of their "passionate love story".
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The mother-of-one said: "Since Xavier disappeared in such tragic and traumatic circumstances our whole world has fallen apart."
Mr Thomas, who had arrived in London on the day of the attack, lived near Paris, worked for American Express and had two children from a previous marriage.
His stepfather, Philippe Pesez, also spoke in French as his mother, Christiane Pesez, stood in tears behind, while a photograph of Mr Thomas was shown on big screens in court.
He was on the phone to his son when he was struck and killed, making him the first victim of the terror attack.
James McMullan had been out celebrating getting financial backing for his online education company when he was killed in the attacks.
The dual British and Filipino from Brent, north-west London, was watching the Champions League final with friends in a pub, but was stabbed to death when he left to have a cigarette.
His sister Melissa said he called their mother, who died months later, the previous morning.
"He was excited, giddy. He told her how everything was going to be okay, that he was going to be able to look after her," she said.
Alexandre Pigeard was at the height of his youth and happy living in London when he was murdered, his father has said.
The 26-year-old Frenchman moved to the English capital to work in a restaurant but also because it was central to the electronic dance music that he loved.
On the night he died, he video-called his father during a break from work at the Boro Bistro.
He had planned to return to France in autumn 2017 to help open a restaurant in Nantes and to record an EP with his dad.
Alexandre's friends nicknamed him "King of the Night", and to them he was "a big brother, a confidant, an accomplice, his joy of life was contagious".
In the coming weeks, the court will hear from eye witnesses, the family and friends of the attackers and a senior MI5 officer.
Other evidence is expected to include CCTV footage of the attacks and the terrorists’ movements, body-worn video from police officers and footage from members of the public caught up in the carnage.
