‘He’s dead, get here now!’ traumatised witness reveals how Belfast ‘attempted beheading’ unfolded and dramatic 999 call

A WITNESS has revealed how a horror knife attack unfolded in Belfast and the moment she shouted to 999 “he’s dead, get here now.”

Mum Karen Mulholland watched in horror as the knifeman appeared to launch the savage attack on a man near her home while her children were indoors on Monday night.

Harrowing footage of the attack has been widely shared online
 

Mother Karen Mulholland said the attack happened moments after her children came home from playing outside
The victim, a man in his 40s, suffered significant injuries to his eyes as well as slash wounds to his neck and back.

Harrowing footage appears to show the attacker slashing at the man’s face and neck while horrified onlookers yelled: “Get off.”

One witness could be heard shouting: “He’s trying to cut his head off.”

Speaking to the Irish Sun, Karen told how the violence erupted just moments after her children came in from playing outside.

Police in forensics gear probe the scene

Karen pleaded with the police on the phone to ‘get here now’
 

Pictures show police at the scene with forensics tents up
 

Maitiu Mág Tighearnán struck the attacker with a wooden hurley stick
She said: “We were just sitting in the house with the children and heard a car flying down the street.

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“It’s kind of normal here, they get over the bump and then they hit the speed and then they go down.

“But then my partner shouted, they’re squealing out there, I heard something’s happened.”

Karen rushed outside after hearing the commotion.

She said: “I put my shoes on, run out and I got to the corner just before the wee bump on the road and looked across and seen a man on top of another man.

At first she believed the pair were fighting but seconds later she heard the chilling sound of the “ding” as the knife hit the concrete.

Karen recalled: “My partner shouted, what’s wrong?

“I said, they’re fighting each other.

“And just as I shouted, I turned back and I heard the blade hitting the floor, the knife, the ding.

“And I just shouted, he’s stabbing him, he’s stabbing him, you need to ring the police.”

As panic spread through the street, Karen urged another passer-by to call emergency services.

She said: “Another [man] with a high-vis vest came over to me and I said, you need to ring the police.

“It was cursing and whatever, I was getting very wound up.

“I was squealing that he’s stabbing and that’s when all the neighbours heard me shouting and screaming.”

The witness was then handed a phone after 999 had been dialled.

Karen said: “I was on the phone to the police.

“Don’t know what I was saying to them, but I just said, it’s Connaught Avenue, North Belfast.

“He’s being stabbed, just need to get here.”

She added: “When my partner came back, I seen the life drain from him and he went, ‘He’s dead, he’s dead’.

“And we’re on the phone to police and I’m squealing, he’s dead, you just need to get here, get here now.”

The witness then watched as brave members of the public rushed to intervene.

She said: “I seen a couple of cars and a guy in a blue tracksuit jumping out and swinging.

“And I’m shouting, beat him, get him off him.”

Among the heroes was young dad Maitiu Mág Tighearnán, known as Matt, who had just returned home after a night out when he discovered the terrifying scene unfolding outside.

Grabbing a wooden hurley stick, used in the Irish sport of hurling, he charged towards the attacker.

Dramatic footage showed Matt striking out with the stick as he and two other men desperately tried to stop the assault.

Karen said she feared for her partner’s safety as the chaos unfolded outside her home – but moments later, cops arrived at the scene.

Karen said: “My kids are at the door and they’re all waving up.

“Everybody in the street’s waving up to try and get them up there.

“And then the cops came away, tried to get it all under control.”

The mother revealed just how close her children came to witnessing the bloodshed.

She said: “Ten minutes before that incident happened, my youngest boy just came into the house from his friends down the street.

“Well, three of my boys just came in.”

Karen also recalled hearing the victim’s desperate cries during the ordeal.

She said: “I could hear the screams of that man’s voice saying, ‘What did I do? What did I do? What did I do?’”

Police have since charged a 30-year-old man with attempted murder, possession of an article with a blade or point in a public place and threats to kill.

He is due to appear before Belfast Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

It comes after PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said the suspect is a Sudanese asylum seeker who travelled to Belfast in February 2023 before later being granted leave to remain in the UK.

Detectives have recovered a kitchen knife from the scene.

Officers also said the actions of courageous bystanders and officers who intervened “undoubtedly” saved the victim’s life.

Credit: The Sun