A New England Patriot's football player is being heralded for preventing a woman from being sexually assaulted in Tempe, Arizona.

Justin Herron, an offensive lineman for the Patriots is one of two men who intervened in the Kiwanis Park attack, where a suspect shoved a 71-year-old woman to the ground and attempted to take off her pants.

Murry Rogers, an Arizona resident who was in the park reserving a spot for his 15-year-old’s birthday party, assisted Herron in apprehending the suspect until police arrived. 

"If not for the swift actions of Mr. Justin Herron and Mr. Murry Rogers, this vicious attack could've been much worse," Tempe police Det. Natalie Barela said, 11 Alive reports.

Police identified the suspect as 30-year-old Kevin Caballero, who attempted the attack in broad daylight.

The 6'5" NFL player who is in Arizona for offseason training was doing a light workout at the time of the incident. He recalled the attack on Fox10 Phoenix, mentioning that he felt compelled to intervene. 

"I heard screaming initially, and it made me more aware of what was going on," Herron recapped. "As I started getting closer to the actual incident, I realized that it was way more aggressive, and in the moment, I had to go, I had to put a stop to it." 

Both Herron and Rogers yelled at the man to get off the victim, who was in the park for her daily walk. 

"After he got off of her, we looked at each other and said we need to make sure he doesn't go anywhere," Rogers said.

"My parents always talked to me about it, if there's someone in need, make sure you can help them and be the best you can be," Herron said. "I don't want this to happen again, I don't want to have to save someone else's life again, but I'm glad I was able to save someone's life on Saturday." 

In a Wednesday press conference, the Tempe police department honored the two men for their heroic actions, presenting them both with an Outstanding Service Award. 

“Our sincere gratitude to the two hero’s [sic] that saved an elderly victim of a vicious attack. Can’t miss this story,” the department tweeted,

Caballero is being accused of sexual assault and the Tempe Police Department Special Victims Unit launched an investigation to determine if Caballero is culpable in any other related incidents.

New England PatriotsSexual assaultTempe-Arizona