Moment Apprentice star helps save people from a ‘psychotic’ knifeman attacking passersby

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video A video has been released showing the moment a star of The Apprentice helped to flag down police to stop a ‘psychotic’ knifeman from attacking members of the public. Sohail Chowdhary starred on the BBC series in 2023, becoming the seventh candidate to be fired after being the project manager on a losing task. The entrepreneur is a martial arts instructor and the founder of Limitless Martial Arts Southampton, AG Martial Arts and clothing brand Sunna Fightwear Ltd. On August 3 last summer, between 12.40pm and 1pm, a man called Azzedvie Mahmoudi, 46, randomly attacked passersby outside an Aldi in Southampton, leaving two people injured after trying to attack seven. CCTV footage of the incident has now been revealed, showing civilians pointing police officers in their cars towards the attacker. Mahmoudi, a former maths teacher who has today been jailed for two years and six months at Southampton Crown Court, became ‘floridly psychotic’ after he stopped taking his medication for paranoid schizophrenia. CCTV footage shows Azzedvie Mahmoudi brandishing a knife in the street before he was apprehended by police (Picture: Hampshire Police/Solent News & Photo Agency) Chowdhary was one of the members of the public who helped the police track down Mahmoudi (Picture: Ray Burmiston/BBC/PA) Chowdhary helped to distract Mahmoudi by throwing things at him, warned other members of the public, and motioned to the police where the attacker was. Matthew Lawson, prosecuting, said: ‘[One man] got a trolley and used it to get the defendant away. He tried to run but tripped on a bollard and [Mahmoudi] stabbed at him, but he was pulled to safety by Mr Chowdhary. ‘Mr Chowdhary followed [Mahmoudi] to try to help people. They reached Empress Road when Mahmoudi attacked someone else. He ran away and was followed by Mr Chowdhary. Someone driving their car attempted to drive into [Mahmoudi] but Mr Chowdhary told them not to do that. He shouted at people warning them to run away. ‘The police arrived with tasers and [Mahmoudi] was told to drop the knives on the ground. He complied.’ This moment in the video shows a man with his face blurred pointing the police car in the direction of the attacker (Picture: Hampshire Police/Solent News & Photo Agency) Mahmoudi was seen kneeling in the street after the police stopped him (Picture: Hampshire Police/Solent News) Investigating officer DC Ryan Mitchell said: ‘The fact no one was more seriously hurt or died as a result of this attack is in no small part thanks to the heroic actions of those members of the public, who, without a second thought for their own safety, bravely stepped in to help those around them and prevent him from sustaining his attacks much further before police arrived.’ While sentencing Mahmoudi, Judge William Mousley KC told him: ‘You had schizophrenia. That is a life long condition which needed and continues to need comprehensive treatment. You decided against medical advice to stop taking your medication which made your schizophrenia relapse. ‘You stopped because of your side effects but you thought you could manage without it. You were not aware of the consequences. You were floridly psychotic and experiencing persecutory hallucinations at the time of the offences and this reduces your culpability.’ Play Video Who is in The Apprentice 2026? Full line-up revealed as new series begins The Apprentice 2026 full line-up revealed including entrepreneur who made racist posts The Apprentice contestant who made vile racist posts 'might not appear on spin-off show' Mahmoudi admitted two counts of unlawful wounding, one count of affray and two counts of possession of a bladed article. In a post shared on Instagram last August, Chowdhary wrote: ‘Earlier today, an incident took place across the road from our martial arts unit in Southampton where a man wielding a large knife was attacking members of the public. A few of our team stepped in and undertook our duties to make sure the injuries caused to the public were minimal. ‘I want to give a huge thank you to three of our own – Viktor, Mohamed, and Jamie – for stepping in to help during a very tense moment and saving lives in today’s attack. ‘As the founder of Limitless Martial Arts, I couldn’t be more proud. Our team didn’t just represent the discipline and courage we teach – we lived it. The most important thing is that everyone is now safe, and we continue to stand strong as a community.’ Got a story? If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you. Arrow MORE: Who is in The Apprentice 2026? 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