The Bondi Beach shootout in Australia during Hanukkah festivities became one of the deadliest incidents of the past week. It happened on December 14 when two armed gunmen, later identified as a father and son duo, opened fire on people on the beach in Sydney. With multiple fatalities and many injured individuals, the incident shook the Jewish community.
The incident targeted innocent civilians enjoying a public holiday. Police have identified the case as an Islamic State-linked terrorist activity, which killed 15 people, including a child. The police, with the help of a bystander, were able to kill one of the attackers, while the other was taken into custody.
As the investigations continue, popular Australian fashion designer Pip Edwards has now broken her silence about the deadly attack, which she witnessed right before her eyes. In fact, the 45-year-old got caught in the crossfire, as the gunmen moved around her. She recounted shivering with fear while hiding herself under a van to prevent getting hit by a bullet. She was accompanied by her girlfriend, as the two of them were walking along Bondi Beach on that fateful evening.
In her detailed Instagram post, Edwards wrote, “The gunman fired his first round of shots right behind my girlfriend and me as we had just passed the bridge where they were standing, heading in the direction of the Jewish event/celebration on the Bondi grass. We immediately ducked between two parked vans as the shots continued to fire incessantly.”
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Pip claimed that the guns were being fired nearly 2 meters away from where she and her girlfriend were ducking under parked vans. She revealed that both the gunmen were using the particular van that they were hiding in as their post for shooting. She added, “We had to immediately take refuge under a van and watched the gunman’s feet with his gun pace in front of the van right at our heads, using our van as his post. His feet were in front of the van, and another gunman’s feet were behind, circling the van.”
What could have been a devastating moment with the designer and her partner’s cover being blown changed the very minute when one of the shooters got distracted. There was some other civilian who was shouting from afar, and the gunmen turned their attention towards them. Describing the ordeal that unfolded right before her eyes, Pip stated that both armed assailants shot at everyone and everything before them.
In her words, “They shot at everything and everyone; surrounding cars were being hit, including our van. I was convulsing with fear, trapped, thinking this was it for us, just monitoring the movement of their feet. The shots kept firing, and we rolled from side to side under the van to hide behind the wheels, as the gunmen’s feet walked around us, trying not to be seen.”
Towards the end of her note, the fashion designer also spoke about the blessed moment when the deafening sounds of gunfire were replaced with a heroic save. Once the police arrived and the armed men were captured, it was then that one of their friends, named Chris, dived under the van and rescued Edwards and her girlfriend. She spoke about her.
feelings at that moment and said, “When the deafening gunshots finally stopped, our friend Chris broke through all the barriers to come find us, save us, and extract us from under the van.”
This tragic event has drawn attention from world leaders, with the attack during a festival leaving many shaken. According to BBC News, the gunmen were identified as 50-year-old Sajid Akram and his 24-year-old son, Naveed Akram.
