Babah Sesay, the man who went on a “Rambo knife” rampage stabbing five people at a Beddington warehouse last January, will face 16 years behind bars.
Sentenced: Beddington warehouse attacker Babah Sesay
Sesay, 31, of Rodney Road, Southwark, was handed the sentence at Croydon Crown Court on Friday.
In March, he entered a guilty plea to 10 charges relating to the incident, including five counts of wounding with intent, two counts of aggravated burglary, one count of actual bodily harm, one count of assault by beating and one count of possession of an offensive weapon.
On the morning of Thursday, January 23, Sesay burst into the busy Sainsbury’s and Argos warehouse in Marlowe Way, Beddington, and attacked former colleagues as they tried to apprehend him.
Five were taken to hospital following the incident. None of the men had life-threatening or life-changing injuries.
Leading the fightback was Joseph Denton, who as he drove home after an unusual day at work was interviewed by TV news reporters.
With a bandage around his little finger, Denton was able to show his injury to the cameras, saying that the knifeman had “sliced my finger open”.
Denton said: “I was there for an audit and the company basically started shouting and saying: ‘He’s back.’
“He didn’t say a word. He was trying to kill me and I’d never seen him before in my life.”
Denton, from Raleigh, Essex, said that the man was armed with a large knife with serated edge, describing it as a “Rambo knife”.
He said: “He stabbed two people in the chest, one had a big gash in his arm. I think someone in the side as well.
“I tried to lock the door, but when I couldn’t I had to just confront him and fight him basically.
“I got him on the floor and decided to hit him with a fire extinguisher, which sort of calmed everything down.
“And then people rushed in because he was on the floor at that point, and then we all just carried on attacking him until he left.
‘Horror stabbing’: five people were hurt when a man using a ‘Rambo knife’ went on the attack in an Argos despatch centre
“I didn’t really have a choice to be honest. There’s one door he was coming through. So, there’s nowhere to go anyway, so I had to confront him.
“He had his thing just stabbing at me like a serial killer.”
Chief Superintendent Nick Blackburn, Croydon and Sutton’s Borough Commander, said: “This significant jail term provides justice to the victims and highlights to the people of London that we will not tolerate violence in any form.
“No one should go to work and fear for their safety. The swift actions of our first responding officers meant no one was seriously hurt in this terrifying incident and I’d like to personally thank them again for their bravery.”
Although Sesay fled the scene, officers carried out a thorough search to locate him at a nearby fast food restaurant.
A charge of criminal damage was left to lie on file.
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