Michael Rogers is the heroic bystander who attempted to help police officers stop Hassan Khalif Shire Ali during Friday’s Bourke Street terror attack.
With people calling him “the trolley man” – the 46-year-old took on the armed and dangerous terrorist with the shopping cart after a person had already been stabbed to death and another two were injured.
But Rogers says he’s “no hero”.
The homeless local spoke to Seven News about wanting help.
“I threw the trolley straight at him, and I got him. I didn’t quite get him down, though. I’m no hero,” Rogers told Seven at the scene of the attack.
Seven News shared that “people think he deserves some sort of award for being a hero. He doesn’t see himself necessarily as a hero but believes he did help save lives and defend his city as well.”
Since then a GoFundMe has been set up for Rogers, raising $116,000 at time of publication.
The page was set up by Melbourne Homeless Collective, a charity that supports the homeless community.
“All funds donated to this campaign will go directly to Mr Rogers to help get him back on his feet,” the page reads.
“He’s a hero in our eyes and he can do what he feels best with any funds he receives. He risked his own life that day for nothing in return and you can’t put a price on that.”
Setting a target of $5k, the charity said, “We’re absolutely blown away by everyone’s generosity and spirit in helping our hero ‘Trolleyman’ get back on his feet.”
“We don’t actually have a set target to reach but due to the incredible generosity we’ve seen so far we’ll keep increasing the total accordingly.
“We’ve far surpassed our original goal. Let’s aim for the sky. Our hero absolutely deserves it.”