Woman who fought off raging knifeman with an umbrella defends what she did subsequent

Liu Yang found fame when when she stepped in to save a woman from a knife wielding photographer, armed with only an umbrella – yet she doesn’t want to cash in on her notoriety

An expected hero has emerged in one of the oddest fights ever thanks to her unexpected weapon of choice.

The woman, a tourist named Liu Yang, fought off an enraged knife-wielding assailant with just an umbrella on September 11, 2024. Spotting a woman had a knife pulled on her during a row about money in the city of Suzhou, China, Liu Yang rushed to step in.

It’s understood the woman was having some photos taken, but wasn’t happy with how they turned out and refused to pay. The photographer then attacked her with a knife.

Yang, who was visiting the city, rushed to clobber the photographer with her brolly to prevent him from striking the woman.

Shortly after Yang stepped in, two fast food workers, one armed with a massive ladle and the other with what looked like a mop and bucket raced to help, successfully warding off the crazed photographer.

Initially known as Floral Dress Girl, due to the feminine outfit she was wearing at the time, Yang quickly gained fame for her bravery – but has refused to cash in on it.

Endorsement offers quickly flooded in for Yang including one to sell umbrellas on a livestream, but she turned them all down, according to the South China Morning Post.

Despite being branded as “foolish”, Yang explained her reasons for not cashing in during an interview with Chongqing Daily News Group.

She said: “It felt like a scene from a movie. My instinct to save lives may have been influenced by the straightforward nature and sense of justice of people from Chongqing, where I’m from, have. But to me, it’s just a small thing that happened in my life, and it is in the past now.”

She added that she hasn’t revisited the scene of the attack because of “psychological trauma.”