The viral internet sensation from the Bourke Street terrorist attack in Melbourne, dubbed ‘Trolleyman’, is due to receive a major financial windfall after a GoFundMe campaign set up in his honor surpassed its original target.
Homeless man Michael Rogers, 46, used a shopping trolley to intervene as Somali-born attacker Hassan Khalif Shire Ali was fighting with police.
“I seen the trolley to the side and I picked it up and I ran and threw the trolley straight at him and got him but didn't get him down," Rogers told Seven News.
Shire Ali had just mounted the footpath in a car packed with gas cylinders before launching a knife attack in which he stabbed three people, one fatally. He was shot by police during the encounter and later died in hospital.
The whole incident was captured on eyewitness video which quickly went viral the world over, making ‘Trolleyman’ an instant global phenomenon.
Registered charity Melbourne Homeless Collective quickly set up a GoFundMe campaign on his behalf and the response was overwhelming, with $129,498 (USD$93,267) of the $45,000 goal raised by 4,668 people in just one day
Trolleyman is described as “an absolutely incredible human” by fundraiser Donna Stolzenberg in an online statement accompanying the campaign.
“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,” she continued, adding that Trolleyman’s phone had been destroyed in the incident.
“I completely agree that we do need to have the conversation around what happens with this money and make sure it is in Michael’s best interest,” Stolzenberg, told 3AW radio station.
We’re not going to go and hand over a $100,000 cheque, that would put Michael at risk as well. We do have accountants on board to make sure that the money is put into a trust for Michael so that he can use it for living expenses.
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