Hero civilian stabbed in Boots store after ‘attempting to stop shoplifter’ in broad daylight attack

The bystander, who was rushed to hospital, was trying to help security prevent the brazen thief from leaving the pharmacy, it is understood.

No arrests have been made as of yet. The 58-year-old’s stab wounds are not life-changing, the force added.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “At around 10.30am officers were called to reports of a stabbing at a pharmacy in Kilburn High Road, NW6.

“Officers responded alongside the London Ambulance Service and found a 58-year-old man with stab wounds.

“He was taken to hospital for treatment where his injuries were deemed non-life changing.

“The 58-year-old member of the public is understood to have intervened alongside the store’s security staff to prevent a shoplifter from leaving the pharmacy.

“There have been no arrests at this time, but urgent enquiries are ongoing to locate the suspect.”

Meanwhile, a London Ambulance Service spokesman said: “We were called at 10:29am on October 30 to reports of a stabbing on Kilburn High Road.

“We sent an ambulance crew and a paramedic in a fast response car. We treated a patient at the scene before taking him to a local hospital.”

Shoplifting arrests across the country have tripled in just five years as Britain continues to battle a retail crime epidemic head-on, GB News revealed last month.

More than 52,000 arrests were recorded by police forces providing data last year – equivalent to 144 a day or one every 10 minutes.

An analysis of Freedom of Information responses found shoplifting arrests soared from 20,253 in 2021 to 52,409 in 2025 – a rise of 158 per cent.

The figures, based on an analysis of 32 responses from police forces – 82 percent of the total – reveal the scale of the problem faced by government and crime forces – particularly from persistent offenders.

At the same time, the Metropolitan Police announced a crackdown on retail crime had resulted in the arrest of 42 people and the recovery of tens of thousands of pounds of stolen goods.

But the surge in petty crime has not gone amiss, with Reform UK’s Robert Jenrick taking matters into his own hands when he confronted a man who allegedly stole a bottled drink from a shop.

Confronting the man face-to-face, who repeatedly attempted to swerve the MP’s grilling, Mr Jenrick asked: “I think you just nicked that, didn’t you?”

Reflecting on the incident, Mr Jenrick told GB News: “I’m sick of seeing brazen shoplifting and nothing ever happening.

“In fact, the Government are making it worse by letting prisoners out early. The shoplifting epidemic is forcing the cost of the weekly food shop up by £50 for British families. It’s outrageously unfair.”