A married couple, killed during Sunday's horrific terrorist attack at Sydney's Bondi Beach, are being hailed as heroes after it was revealed they tried to stop one of the gunmen before they could begin their massacre.
At least 15 people were killed and many more were injured when two gunmen opened fire at members of Sydney's Jewish community celebrating the start of Hanukkah at the famous beach in Sydney.
Russian-Jewish Bondi locals Boris and Sofia Gurman were among the first casualties of the attack.
Dashcam footage showed the moment the couple tried to stop one of the gunmen.
The couple had been walking along Campbell Parade when armed 50-year-old Sajid Akram emerged from a vehicle draped with the flag of the Islamic State terror group.
The footage showed Boris, 69, tackling the terrorist onto the road as soon as the car door opened – disarming him and taking his rifle – aiming it at the assailant. Sofia, 61, joined her husband as they tried to force the assailant to make a retreat.
Akram then charged at Boris before grabbing another weapon.
The couple were killed at close range.
In a statement provided to the Sydney Morning Herald, the Gurman family said: “We are heartbroken by the sudden and senseless loss of our beloved Boris and Sofia.
“In recent days, we have become aware of footage showing Boris, with Sofia by his side, courageously attempting to disarm an attacker in an effort to protect others. While nothing can lessen the pain of losing Boris and Sofia, we feel an overwhelming sense of pride in their bravery and selflessness.
“This encapsulates who Boris and Sofia were – people who instinctively and selflessly tried to help others.”
Boris was a retired mechanic, and Sofia worked for Australia Post.
The two shooters, identified as Sajid and his 24-year-old son Naveed, would go on to kill 13 others, opening fire on the crowd gathered for Hanukkah festivities from a bridge.
Their sacrifice was just one of many stories of bravery and selflessness to emerge from a day of terror.
Reuven Morrison, 62, described as a "loud and proud Jew" who had fled from the Soviet Union to Australia, was filmed trying to fight one of the terrorists, throwing a brick.
Footage showed him charging the gunmen without cover, hurling the brick at them. He would be killed.
"If there was one way for him to go on this earth, it would be fighting a terrorist," his daughter told US broadcaster CBS.
"There was no other way he would be taken from us. He went down fighting, protecting the people he loved the most.
"My father was murdered. In cold blood. Shot. For being Jewish."
Just moments before, 43-year-old Ahmed Al Ahmed, an Australian citizen originally from Syria, was filmed grappling with one of the attackers, ripping the gun from his hands, forcing them to retreat. He was shot twice but survived.
"When he threw himself on that bad guy... he was just thinking how to save these people," Lubaba Alhmidi Alkahil, the media director for the Australians for Syria Association, told AAP.
Ahmed Al Ahmed came from Syria for a better life and didn't hesitate to run into harm’s way for the citizens of his new country. (Source: 1News)
His cousin, Mustafa Al-Asaad, told BBC Arabic, "He wasn't thinking of death when he saw bullets flying in the air."
The terrorists' rampage eventually ceased when police officers opened fire on them, killing Sajid and critically wounding Naveed.
Naveed awoke from a coma yesterday evening and was now speaking with the police as part of their investigation. Charges would likely be laid today.
The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including family of the youngest Bondi attack victim speak, and new allegations about attempts to take over a prominent Auckland school. (Source: 1News)
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