‘Blood and bodies everywhere’: Eyewitnesses recount horror of Bondi seaside terror assault | EUROtoday

Eyewitnesses have recounted being shot as they grabbed their kids and seeing “bodies all over the floor” as horror unfolded through the terror assault at Bondi seaside on Sunday.

Gunmen opened fireplace throughout a celebration on the primary day of Hanukkah on the well-known Sydney seaside, killing no less than 11 folks and injuring an additional 29 folks, together with two cops.

Australian officers described it as a focused antisemitic assault and an act of terrorism. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the taking pictures as an antisemitic “act of evil”.

One of the suspected shooters was additionally killed, whereas a second was in essential situation. Police had been investigating whether or not a 3rd gunman was concerned, New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon advised a press convention. A bomb-disposal unit was engaged on a number of suspected improvised explosive units present in a automotive close to the scene, he stated.

Australia, one of many world’s most secure international locations, has been left reeling as harrowing eyewitness accounts emerge from the mass taking pictures.

A father-of-two was celebrating on the Hanukkah occasion together with his spouse and youngsters when he stated he was hit within the again with shotgun pellets.

Dovey, who didn’t share his surname, advised The Telegraph: “I just ran, grabbed my kids and just ran down to the beach and hid behind the wall. My wife and two other children actually ran a different direction and were hiding somewhere else.

“It was a very stressful hour. None of us had our phones on us. So until we all managed to put it all back together and and then I was in the surf lifesavers club and I came back down looking for them.

“And there’s bodies all over the floor, like it was not something that you would ever, in a million years, believe that this is Bondi Beach.

“I got a graze in the back, a bit of shrapnel in there. So I just came to the hospital. They dug that all out and bandaged it up for me. But I’m one of the lucky ones. It was just a terrible event for everybody.”

Witnesses stated the taking pictures on the famed seaside, which was packed on a sizzling summer season’s night, lasted about 10 minutes, sending a whole bunch of individuals scattering alongside the sand and into close by streets and parks. Police stated round 1,000 folks had attended the Hanukkah occasion.

“Initially, you just think, it’s a beautiful day down by the beach,” stated Bondi resident Grace Mathew. “You sort of think that people are just having a good time. Then more people ran past and said there’s a shooter, there’s a mass shooting, and they’re killing people.”

Tourists additionally described listening to what they thought had been fireworks earlier than everybody started to run for shelter.

German vacationer Marie advised Australian outlet 9 News: “We were sitting for two minutes, and it just started, the shooting. We thought it was fireworks, but at some point people started screaming and there were the police cars, so we took all our stuff and hid around the corner… [Then] we took off our shoes and just started running up the street…

“I thought we were going to maybe stay there and die. It was really, really scary.”

But amid the fear had been some unimaginable acts of heroism.

Authorities stated much more folks would have been killed had been it not for a bystander, recognized by native media as fruit store proprietor Ahmed al-Ahmed. The 43-year-old was filmed charging at a suspected gunman from behind, grappling with him and wresting a rifle from his arms.

“There are many, many people alive tonight as a result of his bravery,” stated Chris Minns, premier of New South Wales state, calling the bystander “a genuine hero”.

A stranger additionally took a bullet for a three-year-old lady, based on her mother and father, who recounted the terrifying second they may not discover their baby as bullets flew “all around”.

Local Wayne, who didn’t share his surname, stated he grabbed their different daughter Capri and “just lay on top of her” underneath a desk when the taking pictures started.

But his spouse Vanessa, who was elsewhere on the seaside, known as a minute later, asking if he had their three-year-old Gigi. “I’m like ‘I don’t have Gigi’, she didn’t have Gigi, and that’s when the absolute panic just set in,” he advised Sky News Australia.

Vanessa stated she launched right into a determined seek for her daughter. She advised the broadcaster: “There were bullets all around me. All I can do is scream: ‘Where is my family? Where’s my little girl?’”

When the taking pictures stopped, Wayne started on the lookout for Gigi. “There was just blood and bodies everywhere,” he stated. “She was wearing a pink skirt, and I saw this lady lying on top of her.”

The girl, known as Jess, had herself been shot and was coated in blood. But because of her safety, Gigi was secure.

“I said: ‘You’ve saved my daughter’s life’. I said: “I’ll be indebted to you for the rest of my life,’” Wayne stated.

Richard Hasten, who additionally attended the Hanukkah occasion together with his household, recalled having fun with the festivities earlier than he heard gunshots ringing out and ran to take cowl.

“I was laying down and a woman was right in front of me and I could see she was bleeding right in front of me… so I took my shirt off to stop the bleeding,” he advised Australian outlet ABC, including that he believes she is now “fine”.

People throughout the native space recounted the second they heard the pictures being fired and rushed for no matter shelter they may discover.

A Briton stated he was in his condo when he heard what he thought had been fireworks going off, however when he seemed out his window, he noticed a person taking pictures from on prime of a white automotive and folks being gunned down.

Fin Green advised the BBC that he noticed folks “running and screaming”, sprinting in direction of his constructing to take cowl.

He stated he shortly shut his blinds and rushed to cover in his wardrobe.