Irish Ranger saves lives in Nairobi Mall

Be like Nutella · 25-09-2013 1:37pm #1

"....the ex-soldier was about to leave the mall when the attack began and he ran back inside with a former British soldier.They were provided with guns by two Asian men and the four ran into an underground car park where they found over 200 shoppers and staff hiding behind parked trucks. They brought the group up a ramp onto a street and then returned to the mall where they found another 100 people. The men also helped to bring them out of the mall. But when the two ex-soldiers tried to gain access to the third floor, where some colleagues were based, they came under fire from the roof. They returned fire and moved into a restaurant where others were in hiding.After a further exchange of gunfire, they found another large group of shoppers and engaged with the gunmen again as they brought them to safety.The close friend told the Irish Independent last night: "They left no one behind."In escorting those people from the premises they took more fire from the upper floor before escaping."This man then spent three hours using his paramedical training to help the injured, including people who had been shot or hit by hand grenade shrapnel, and then turned restaurant tables into temporary stretchers to shuttle them to safety."His skills saved the lives of many. Eye witness accounts say he did an extraordinary job", the friend added.The former soldier spent several years in the Army Ranger Wing. "

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/mystery-irish-hero-saved-hundreds-in-nairobi-29608137.html

Irish Rangers... I always heard from people they were seriously bad ass... fair play to these boys. I have images of the two lads from Strike Back except this was real and hundreds of lives were at stake.

Hedgemeister · 25-09-2013 1:55pm

Not like the Indo to praise Irish soldiers, but well done to those two guys.

bobbysands81 · 25-09-2013 3:26pm

Were these ex soldiers mercenaries?

They had colleagues on third floor?

An Asian man just happened to hand the lads a few guns, that sounds weird, was there a mercenary base in the Shopping Centre?

Be like Nutella · 25-09-2013 3:32pm

seems like they were mercs yeah.... or private mil contractors or whatever you'd like to call them. I wouldn't judge them yet without facts about what they actually do in Africa... probably just highly paid bodyguards. Wouldn't be in their interest to be on the front page of the Indo though. Seems like the Journalist made a deal to that effect... possibly to get an exclusive further down the road? I'd love to know more about what happened and what part this Irish guy played.

If they were American there'd be script in the making right now and CNN would be tracking them down with a bag of gold for an exclusive which would end up as an hour long reconstruction.

Lemming · 25-09-2013 3:35pm

A couple of the UK papers (I do note one source as being the daily fail), had mention of a former SAS member escorting a lot of people out involving several trips back into the building, after having been caught up in the event. So could be the other half of the above story.

Regardless, brave men; and a lot of people owe them a measure of gratitude that can never be expressed in words.

Be like Nutella · 25-09-2013 3:39pm

I'd say you're bang on there. Doubt we'll be seein him on the Late Late any time soon though.

goldie fish · 25-09-2013 5:07pm

bobbysands81 wrote: »

Were these ex soldiers mercenaries?

They had colleagues on third floor?

An Asian man just happened to hand the lads a few guns, that sounds weird, was there a mercenary base in the Shopping Centre?

Hedgemeister · 25-09-2013 6:08pm

The Mercenary / Irish Ranger / SAS Base is on the middle floor next to Aldi, which in reality is the secret Grey Alien Time Tunnel...oops, I've let the cat outa the bag there.

All should be back to 'normal' tomorro in the Indo...Irish soldier caught drink driving, speeding past a school, suspect in this or that crime...

Armadillo · 25-09-2013 7:08pm

Uk media saying this is the guy.

[MOD]Removed the image, I dont know if you took this image from web or elsewhere but I'm sure there's a very good reason why the original was blurred out so its preferable not to post it here[/MOD]

Lemming · 25-09-2013 8:42pm

Picture I saw from the UK media had his face blurred out - so you might want to consider your source and whether it's appropriate to post it here - and was ex-SAS.

iceage · 26-09-2013 9:49pm

Flippin good drills that man.

raymann · 27-09-2013 9:16am

maybe the first bit of action hes seen?

being in that sort of situation as a fully trained person must be a strange paradox of not wanting to be there but knowing that you can make a life changing difference to the people around you. its one thing working under orders and another just doing it because of where you happen to be at a particular point in time.

bobbysands81 · 29-09-2013 4:09pm

Hedgemeister wrote: »

The Mercenary / Irish Ranger / SAS Base is on the middle floor next to Aldi, which in reality is the secret Grey Alien Time Tunnel...oops, I've let the cat outa the bag there.

All should be back to 'normal' tomorro in the Indo...Irish soldier caught drink driving, speeding past a school, suspect in this or that crime...

So why do you think an Irish ex-Army Ranger and ex Brit SAS soldier were taking guns from an Asian man and using them to help their colleagues in a shopping centre that was being attacked?

Hedgemeister · 29-09-2013 6:43pm

Maybe it was because it was the right thing to do?

I'd probably have done the same thing myself in a similar situation (being an ex-Ranger also)
What both men were doing in a shopping centre in Nairobi I've no idea.

goldie fish · 29-09-2013 7:39pm

Shopping perhaps?

donaghs · 30-09-2013 11:29am

bobbysands81 wrote: »

Were these ex soldiers mercenaries?

They had colleagues on third floor?

An Asian man just happened to hand the lads a few guns, that sounds weird, was there a mercenary base in the Shopping Centre?

Sounds weird at first, but reading a bit more about at the weekend it starts to make more sense. Apparently people's first emergency response there isn't to call the Police, as they are so ineffective. Wealthy people call their private security firms, and others call friends with guns.

Apparently the first fight-back and rescue attempts were made by a motely mix of private security and have-go-heroes, and some police who happened to be there went the terrorists attacked. Long before the police and military arrived.

Reckon there's still a lot more to be revealed about this though.

Local-womanizer · 30-09-2013 11:56am

What does it matter what he was doing there though. Some people seem to be trying to make a deal out of the fact these men might work in private security.

They most likely are, along with how many other thousands of ex military personnel around the globe.

It would make a good film this story that's for sure.

discus · 30-09-2013 11:58am

Hedgemeister wrote: »

Maybe it was because it was the right thing to do?

I'd probably have done the same thing myself in a similar situation (being an ex-Ranger also)
What both men were doing in a shopping centre in Nairobi I've no idea.

OOOHHHH HERE WE GO!

c-90 · 30-09-2013 12:38pm

donaghs wrote: »

Sounds weird at first, but reading a bit more about at the weekend it starts to make more sense. Apparently people's first emergency response there isn't to call the Police, as they are so ineffective.

Not that weird at all if you live in rural Ireland.

Hedgemeister · 30-09-2013 12:57pm

discus wrote: »

OOOHHHH HERE WE GO!

Meaning ?

discus · 30-09-2013 4:43pm

You've just outed yourself as an ex-ranger, which I'm assuming is true because I think you've said you're an author too. I'm sitting patiently here on a sandbag waiting to hear some dits!!

Hedgemeister · 30-09-2013 5:00pm

So what?
'Outed' myself...on an anonymous internet forum!
Anyway, I don't remember being sworn to secrecy.
I reckon there's a couple of thousand ex-Rangers out there somewhere at this stage.
(We haven't gone away you know)

iceage · 30-09-2013 5:32pm

I bet the lads were just shopping for dodgy DVD's and looking for a decent coffee and a burger. Who gives a fig why they were there, I'm sure the people they led out of that place were only delighted they were there. Right guys, right place, right time and all that.

c-90 · 30-09-2013 5:45pm

Hedgemeister wrote: »

So what?
'Outed' myself...on an anonymous internet forum!
Anyway, I don't remember being sworn to secrecy.
I reckon there's a couple of thousand ex-Rangers out there somewhere at this stage.
(We haven't gone away you know)

What colour is the boat hous in the curragh.....

Hedgemeister · 30-09-2013 6:06pm

Sorry c90, but I completed my selection course (and passed)
Don't wish to be re-tested on an internet forum.

claypigeon777 · 30-09-2013 6:29pm

The white guy with the greying hair and the hand gun tucked in his jeans is probably either the Irishman or his British former SAS colleague. He looks late thirties or early forties and physically fit. The other white man carrying what looks like a table top seems to have short hair and a mustache like John McAleese or Robin Horsfall would have worn - I would presume the former SAS man served in the 1980s or 90s? - and also looks physically fit. Reports say that they both tended to wounded people using their medical training from special forces so it must be one or the other of the men.

[MOD]In keeping with whats happened previously, any photos of personnel involved will be removed unless they have been censored first. These blokes are heroes, one is an ex pat soldier, they have repeatedly expressed wishes to remain anonymous and that will be honored here. Please post as much information as you like, but no photos unless you blur them first, thanks, feel free to repost an edited image.[/MOD]

Some insight on what the special forces men would have had to do on the spur of the moment.

Be like Nutella · 30-09-2013 6:35pm

wish I didn't post now - people are determined to show a pic of these guys faces and it's prob not the best idea in retrospect.... blur it out or mod please

claypigeon777 · 30-09-2013 6:40pm

Be like Nutella wrote: »

wish I didn't post now - people are determined to show a pic of these guys faces and it's prob not the best idea in retrospect.... blur it out or mod please

Don't be silly. You can't see their faces. Which is why I posted the photo.

Be like Nutella · 30-09-2013 6:52pm

fair enough as long as its out there people are gona find the pic anyway... I'd just be wary if I was one of the two lads working in the area that al shabaab might come after me

claypigeon777 · 30-09-2013 6:55pm

Be like Nutella wrote: »

fair enough as long as its out there people are gona find the pic anyway... I'd just be wary if I was one of the two lads working in the area that al shabaab might come after me

If you were a special forces hard b*st*rd like these guys they wouldn't want to come after you.

These are religious fanatics who target innocent men women and children.

When they are up against professional soldiers they sh*t their pants.

Be like Nutella · 30-09-2013 7:20pm

true that.. men who shoot innocents are nothin but pussies when it comes down to it no matter how they wish to justify it. I'm a proud Irishman but I would put every IRA member (and every UVF member etc) who shot or blew up an innocent during the troubles in exactly the same category as these assholes. Killing innocents is not the last remaining option - it is NEVER an option to a sane person.

c-90 · 30-09-2013 9:03pm

Hedgemeister wrote: »

Sorry c90, but I completed my selection course (and passed)
Don't wish to be re-tested on an internet forum.

Just yanking your chain man.

Its from the film ronin.

01-10-2013 6:17am

Claypigeon, not your place to say "f*ck privacy. they can take it".

Besides, *you* think *you* know better about al shabaab than these guys who have decided to request privacy?

Morpheus · 01-10-2013 9:33am

Please dont post any more pictures unless you edit them first. it takes two seconds to respect their wishes and requested privacy, regardless of where the images are hosted and blur them before posting them. Just because the rest of the internet sticks its hand in the fire, doesn't mean that we have to do likewise.

Other than that, everyone chill out, no need for argumentative debate.

Hedgemeister · 01-10-2013 9:41am

c-90 wrote: »

Just yanking your chain man.

Its from the film ronin.

Apologies c-90,
guess I was overly sensitive :cool:

riffmongous · 01-10-2013 11:05am

Be like Nutella wrote: »

true that.. men who shoot innocents are nothin but pussies when it comes down to it no matter how they wish to justify it. I'm a proud Irishman but I would put every IRA member (and every UVF member etc) who shot or blew up an innocent during the troubles in exactly the same category as these assholes. Killing innocents is not the last remaining option - it is NEVER an option to a sane person.

You seem to have forgotten another major group that killed innocent people during the troubles in your list..

Fair play to the people involved who did what they did, ex-SF or not they didn't have to help anyone (assuming they weren't clients!) and I think it's the kind of story that needs to be told about the people working in the private security industry, god knows there are enough books listing some of the actions carried out in Iraq

donaghs · 02-10-2013 11:36am

claypigeon777 wrote: »

If you were a special forces hard b*st*rd like these guys they wouldn't want to come after you.

These are religious fanatics who target innocent men women and children.

When they are up against professional soldiers they sh*t their pants.

Not so sure. They could for instance just leave a car bomb outside a location where they might be based. So I understand their need for discretion.

Following up on earlier comment on people calling private security before bothering to call Kenyan emergency services, the shop keepers are now complaining that the Kenyan's looted their stores after the siege ended.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/kenya-probes-looting-linked-to-the-four-day-siege-of-nairobis-westgate-mall/story-e6frg6so-1226731307658

Calibos · 02-10-2013 12:49pm

c-90 wrote: »

Just yanking your chain man.

Its from the film ronin.

....and yet he didn't say, "I won't be tested on an internet forum, but wtf are you talking about boathouses in the Curragh?? Theres no boathouse on the Curragh FFS LOL????"

Terrlock · 03-10-2013 2:08pm

Sounds right outta a die hard movie, fair play to him to have those kinda skills, and resolve to do the right thing with them.

Talk about being in the wrong place at the right time though.

People should stop trying to find out who is is and just leave kind messages of thanks.

I'm sure he will receive them well.

gizmo555 · 03-10-2013 3:00pm

This guy brings a whole new meaning to the term "mystery shopper" . . .

tricky D · 17-10-2013 7:00pm

Just released CCTV footage. SAS or ARW man likely at 2.49

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOq6owl8k4M

gizmo555 · 02-11-2013 10:45am

The Irish Independent today (02/11/13) publishes excerpts from an interview with the ex-ARW man involved in this incident, full interview promised for tomorrow:

In an exclusive interview with the Irish Independent, he revealed: "There were bodies littered everywhere. They (the terrorists) cut down everyone in front of them."

The soldier, who did not want to be identified, said he believed that the al-Qa'ida-aligned terror group showed a level of military training that had not seen before in such an incident.

He said: "The media spin coming from Kenya is that this was a small, poorly organised gang but from my first-hand experience that is not the case. They were well-trained, well-prepared and disciplined." . . .

The former Ranger, who served on UN missions in Lebanon and East Timor, is the head of security for a major oil company employing 5,500 staff across East Africa.

He and a colleague were in their office a 10-minute drive away when heavily armed terrorists stormed into the Westgate Mall, which was full of Saturday afternoon shoppers.

The ex-soldier said: "We were notified of the attack immediately and quickly discovered that two of our clients were trapped in a restaurant within the Mall.

"At that stage we had just one mission and that was to rescue two of our clients. In our efforts to get to them in the shopping centre, we helped evacuate a lot of people. There was nothing heroic about that – I was just doing my job."

He and his colleague were the first rescuers to enter the fashionable shopping centre within 30 minutes of the beginning of the attack.

It is estimated that the two men, along with a few police officers, helped to evacuate up to 500 people during the drama.

Neither man was armed when the incident occurred but the former Ranger managed to obtain a handgun from a civilian, which he used to engage the terrorists.

CCTV footage from inside the mall showed the security specialist armed with a handgun as he made a dash to save his clients who were trapped along with 100 others in a restaurant.

In a major interview to be published in tomorrow's 'Sunday Independent', the security consultant describes in detail the dramatic rescue operation and the horrifying carnage he encountered . . .

Horse84 · 03-11-2013 9:38am

Full interview here
http://www.independent.ie/world-news/how-an-unarmed-irish-soldier-rescued-hundreds-in-nairobi-29722212.html

Ben D Bus · 04-11-2013 11:03pm

I read about this in the Observer when in the UK at the weekend

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/02/westgate-mall-attacks-kenya

Irish Ranger saves lives in Nairobi Mall

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