An heroic bystander showed complete disregard for his own safety, ran towards danger – not away from it – and tackled one of two terrorist gunmen during the Bondi Beach mass shooting Sunday in which at least 11 people were murdered, footage shows.
Video of the scene shows the gunman standing on a footpath between a grassy area and parking lot holding a shotgun and firing randomly into the distance at the Jewish holiday event.
The bystander, who is crouching unarmed behind a parked car, rushes towards the shooter as he fires. He leaps on to the terrorist and wrestles the shotgun from his hands before the frightened, disarmed man tries to scamper away.
The video shows the terrorist meekly falling to the ground as the hero points the shotgun at him as the gunman backs away. The bystander then gently places the shotgun against a tree and puts his hand in the air.
Australian authorities declared the incident a terrorist attack.
At least 12 people were killed in the assault on a Hanukah celebration, including one of the shooters, police said. At least 29 people were taken to hospital, as Breitbart News reported.
Authorities declared the incident a terrorist attack and it brought to reality a fear that many Australian Jews say they have been living with: that they are no longer safe in the country that was supposed to protect them.
President Isaac Herzog called the shooting a “very cruel attack on Jews who went to light the first candle of Hanukkah on Bondi Beach”.
In a speech at an event in Jerusalem, AFP reports Herzog called on Australia to “fight against the enormous wave of antisemitism which is plaguing Australian society”.
In Australia, some lawmakers were quick to both condemn the attack and warn of what the future holds.
Senator Pauline Hanson, the founder and leader of One Nation, led the way.
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