Australian barber hailed as hero for running to lawmaker

Australian barber Ricky Jefferies has been hailed as a hero for running out of his store to detain a man who authorities allege deliberately drove a car into lawmaker Helen Haines in the small town of Wangaratta, an incident that has shocked the country.



Jefferies had just finished haircuts for a young family on Monday when he said he heard a "loud bang" outside his shop and realised the driver of a Toyota LandCruiser had struck Haines, leaving her badly injured.



He said he ran to assist the well-respected local MP, grabbing a knife from the alleged attacker's pocket and pulling him out of the car.



"He did have a knife. He didn't pull it out. I just wasn't comfortable with his movements, and so I basically just took it out of his pocket and threw it away," he said.



Jefferies added he then held the man down until police arrived.



Haines, 65, was airlifted to hospital where she underwent surgery overnight. She remains in a critical condition.



Early investigations suggested the driver, identified as a 43-year-old man, performed a U-turn before hitting Haines as she was loading or unloading things from the trunk of her car,



Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said. Counterterrorism authorities are among the multiple agencies involved in the investigation.