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Hero delivery man who intervened in a knife attack in Dublin to stand as a candidate in local elections

Vaseline

“I want to keep helping people.”

Caio Benicio, the delivery driver who intervened in the Dublin knife attack, has announced he will lead the upcoming local elections.

The Brazilian Deliveroo driver will stand as a candidate for Fianna Fail for Dublin North Inner City in the June elections.

The 43-year-old was on the street when the attack took place in Dublin last November.

He intervened to subdue the attacker with his helmet after spotting the attack, saying his actions were “pure instinct”.

Speaking at the Fianna Fail 1916 commemoration on Arbor Hill on Sunday, Mr Benicio said his priorities as a councilor would be around road safety and immigration.

Stating that he will be ‘a voice’ for immigrants and those working in the gig economy, Mr Benicio added: “My motivation is that I want to continue to help people and this is where you have the power to really help people. ”

He continued: “People were so kind to me and I think I have to pay them back and this is the way I think I can help the most.”

Caio Benicio, delivery driver who intervened in the Dublin knife attack, has stood as a candidate in the local elections

Tanaiste Michel Martin said he is “delighted” that Benicio is running for local elections.

In a tweet, Mr Martin said: “I am delighted that Caio Benicio will be standing in the upcoming Fianna Fail local elections in the Dublin North Inner City local electoral area.

“Caio wants to play a bigger role in his community and I think he will be a very good public representative.”

Following his heroics during the attack, a GoFundMe was set up for the Brazilian, raising almost €370,000 for him and his family.

In November, Mr Benicio told The Journal about his experience of the attack in which a five-year-old girl and a daycare worker in her 30s suffered serious injuries, while two other children were also injured.

“I didn’t even make a decision, it was pure instinct, and it was all over in seconds,” Mr. Benicio said.

“He fell to the ground, I didn’t see where the knife went and other people stepped in.”

Benicio, who came to Ireland for work after his restaurant in Brazil burned down, said he used his helmet as a weapon to disarm the attacker.

“I have two children of my own, so I had to do something. I did what anyone would do.

‘There were people there, but they couldn’t intervene because he was armed. But I knew I could use my helmet as a weapon.”

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