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CBS2 Exclusive: 3 Good Samaritans Save Woman From Knife-Wielding Man In Clark

CLARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Three heroes saved a woman who was being threatened by a man with a knife in Clark, New Jersey.

CBS2's Jessica Moore exclusively reports Beverly Ricci, who was walking her dog around 7 p.m. Tuesday, was seconds from being attacked until three good Samaritans stepped in, and the attacker turned his attention and his knife on them.

George Peter Paul, Glenn Burkhardt and Walt Kawko explained they took action after hearing Ricci screaming.

"She was yelling 'Help, help' at the top of her lungs and we knew somebody was in trouble," Burkhardt said.

Ricci was walking her dog Daisy when a man she didn't recognize started walking toward her.

"I actually said, 'Hello, hi,' and then he said, 'Drop the dog,' and I said, 'What?'" Ricci explained.

Around 7:30 p.m., Clark police said Emmanuel Goda, 36, was walking on Lake Avenue armed with what they said was a knife – but witnesses called a machete – threatening to kill.

"I was froze over there, I couldn't move," Ricci said.

The good Samaritans ran up and distracted Goda from Ricci.

"He had a machete, a good two-foot knife on him … and he swung at these two guys. Meanwhile, I ran back while he was dealing with them up to the lady to make sure she was alright. She went back into the house and at that time he took his attention off of them and came back after me going towards the lady," Burkhardt said.

"That's what got him away from me when they came running up and that's what saved me, I think," Ricci said.

Within minutes police were on the scene and once Goda turned the machete on them, an officered fired, taking Goda down.

Burkhardt doesn't consider themselves heroes.

"No, we were here. We're neighbors," he said.

Ricci and the three men were not hurt during the incident.

Goda suffered a gunshot wound to the torso. His injuries aren't considered life-threatening.

"You can't predict things nowadays," a Clark resident named James told 1010 WINS' John Montone. "Places are just getting crazy."

No officers were hurt.

(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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