A YouTuber streamer has gotten praise for saving a man from being mugged and robbed of his bicycle during a livestream, as he shouted and scared the attacker off before calling the police.
Livestreamers on Twitch and YouTube deal with some degree of spontaneity during their real-time vlogging escapades — and few followers expect vigilante justice to be among the day’s activities. But the rare occurred when YouTube’s Sherwin was out and about during an evening passing through Leicester Square in London, England.
While moving through the usually busy area, Sherwin notices some commotion off in the distance and quickly heads toward it in a concerned panic. With a camera showing Sherwin’s face and one showing his POV (point of view), YouTube chat got a front-row seat to what ends up being an act of random bystander heroism.
In a one-minute clip shared to Twitter, the incident has been shared more widely across the internet. In the video, Sherwin is seen shielding the bloodied, fallen victim and fending off the attacker multiple times before drawing a group of helpful strangers and calling the police.
Live-streamer saves an Asian man from being mugged. #StopAsianHate pic.twitter.com/wlhaliHeGR
— Fifty Shades of Whey (@davenewworld_2) April 10, 2021
As can be seen in the clip, Sherwin notices something happening off in the distance and quickly runs over, in front of a moving car, yelling “leave him alone!” As the fallen man lays beside his bike, imploring the streamer to “call the police,” Sherwin continues to shout the stubborn attacker away.
Simultaneously creaming “f**k off” at the hopeful thief, asking the victim if he’s alright and calling the police on a phone strapped to his wrist, the commotion becomes loud enough for a group of strangers walking by to stop and assist.
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A group of three, the young men immediately ask “what happened?” To which, Sherwin hastily responds that the attacker “was kicking him … he tried to curb-stomp him.” With this group immediately concerned and turning their attention, the attacker finally runs off for good. Despite hanging around in wait for much of the minute, he was possibly convinced it wasn’t a good idea to return when one of the group aggressively shouted, “ay G, why you running?”
https://twitter.com/Sherwindo7/status/1380982866230841346
Sherwin’s actions come at a time in which social media is rightfully ablaze with the #StopAsianHate movement, a direct response to rising hate crimes against Asians in the past year. Protecting someone from harm and robbery is commendable at any time, but has garnered extra attention for saving an Asian man during a time in which a light is shined on the injustices toward them.
In a response to all of the appreciation he is receiving on social media, the small streamer focused on how glad he was to help someone under threat: “I know what it’s like to be attacked for no good reason. I’m super glad I instinctively reacted fast. I’m happy I saved someone who was in serious danger.”
As seen later in the stream, Sherwin and the victim were able to speak with police and medical workers and the video seems to have been shared with the cops. It remains to be known if a successful arrest has been made using said footage.