Terrifying moment piercing screams heard as soldier comes under attack near army barracks
A woman can be heard shouting ‘what are you doing?’ as attack unfolded
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Chilling doorbell footage has captured the moment a soldier was brutally stabbed in an attack outside his home, with a woman’s blood curdling screams heard in the background.
The serviceman, who is aged in his 40s, was left with serious injuries just before 6pm on Tuesday after he was attacked in Sally Port Gardens in Gillingham, Kent.
Neighbours spoke of their horror at hearing piercing screams as the uniformed soldier was attacked and a woman, thought to be the victim’s wife watched the incident unfold.
Footage shared with The Independent showed the moment Alex Reynolds, 38, and his father heard the chaos unfolding a few hundred yards away from their home.
Distressing audio can be heard of a woman screaming “What the f*** are you doing, what are you doing, oh my god”, while Mr Reynolds can be seen peering out of his house.
By the time he reached the scene a crowd of onlookers was already gathered around the wounded soldier, who was wearing camouflage military fatigues.
Mr Reynolds told The Independent: “I came out on to the street and went over to the corner.“It was a minute and a half after the incident and there were already 10 people around the body.
“The man was lying there and not moving. We presumed he was dead but I think he was told to just not move.
“We spoke to one of his colleagues and he [the victim] always goes for a walk at that time just before 6pm.”
Mr Reynolds and his wife Natasha, 30, said the victim was the only one dressed in military uniform at the scene.
“The lady was just screaming saying what are you doing?” he added. “I took my son to nursery this morning and we always see military walking by. I just said sorry to them and I hope he is OK.”
Natasha added: “I hope he is going to have a good recovery because it’s really dreadful what happened.”
The police have since said that the knife attack is not thought to be terror-related.
Investigators have recovered a number of knives from the scene while Kent Police said the serviceman, who was airlifted to hospital, is in a serious but stable condition.
A 24-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a moped was stopped in Mooring Road, Rochester, around 30 minutes after the stabbing.
Neighbours described seeing a handcuffed man being led away by police, and investigators remained at a house in the road on Wednesday, with sniffer dogs also being used in part of the road.
Head of the Army General Sir Roly Walker condemned the stabbing as “horrific”, while Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was “shocked and appalled”.