British actor Dev Patel broke up a fight in which a man was stabbed in the chest, a spokesman has confirmed.
A spokesman for Patel, who starred in Slumdog Millionaire and Lion, told local channel 7NEWS.com.au that he and his friends had witnessed “a violent altercation already in progress outside a convenience store”.
In a statement to the channel, they said, “Dev acted on his natural instinct to try and de-escalate the situation and break up the fight.
“Thankfully the group were successful in doing so and stayed at the scene to ensure the police and eventually the ambulance arrived.”
The 32-year-old actor was pictured speaking to police after Monday night’s stabbing in Adelaide, Australia.
Officers were called about 8.45pm to reports of a man and woman fighting in the street, South Australian police said.
The pair continued to fight inside a nearby gas station, where witnesses tried to break up the fight, before the woman allegedly stabbed the man in the chest.
A 32-year-old man from Glengowrie was treated at the scene by ambulance officers. He was then taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital. His injuries are not considered life-threatening.
Patel’s spokesman added: “This specific incident highlights a larger systemic problem of marginalized members of society not being treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.
“The hope is that the same level of media attention this story is receiving (solely because Dev, as a famous person, was involved) can be a catalyst for lawmakers to be compassionate in determining long-term solutions to help not only the people who were involved but the community at large.”
Patel lives in Adelaide with his girlfriend, actress Tilda Cobham-Hervey, with whom he starred in the 2018 film Hotel Mumbai.