‘I had to do it:’ Good Samaritan shot while trying to stop attempted Rittenhouse Square robbery

When Torago Flint saw an alleged armed robbery occurring in Rittenhouse Square, the cyclist knew he had to try to stop it. Though his efforts resulted in him being shot five times, he still believes he “had to do it.”

“Do you understand what I’m saying? I had to do it,” Flint, 39, told CBS Philly on Friday. “I didn’t think I was shot until I saw the blood.”

Flint, who underwent surgery after allegedly being shot by suspect Mehdi Fraiji, 17, doesn’t want to be considered a hero.

“I can’t imagine what I would do to make myself feel like a hero,” he said. “If you have a chance to do what you need to do, it’s normal.”

He is “used to things like this happening,” he said. “I’m black, and when you’re black, things happen.

“Getting shot does not hurt,” he added. “Getting shot doesn’t hurt, healing does. So, if anything ever impedes you from doing what you have to do, don’t let it be a gunshot. Do what you have to do, save your mother, save your wife, save your kids.”

As previously reported,Fraiji, who turned himself in last Saturday,is being charged as an adult for attempted murder, aggravated assault, robbery, firearms violations and related offenses.