Newly emerged dashcam footage has provided a chilling glimpse into the moments before a deadly shooting at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, showing a bystander's heroic attempt to disarm one of the alleged attackers.
A Desperate Struggle on the Street
The video, captured near Bondi Beach on Sunday evening, shows a man in a purple top wrestling with 50-year-old Sajid Akram close to a footbridge. The altercation occurred around 6:40pm on Sunday during the 'Chanukah by the Sea' event, which marked the first night of Hanukkah.
In the footage, the two men are seen grappling near a car with its doors open. The bystander appears to be trying to seize the firearm from Sajid Akram during the intense physical struggle. Both men fall to the ground, with the civilian seemingly gaining control of the weapon momentarily.
Eyewitness Account of the Chaos
The dashcam footage was recorded by a woman named Jenny. She initially reported hearing three loud bangs, which she mistook for fireworks. When she investigated, the scene that unfolded sent a chill down her spine.
"A car with its doors open, an older man and a middle-aged man were rolling on the ground, fighting," Jenny wrote on social media. She then glanced to her left and saw a younger man, Naveed Akram, 24, standing on the footbridge.
"He was all in black, had a full beard, and was holding a long rifle, continuously pulling the trigger," she described. "He was no more than 6m or 7m away from me." Jenny fled the scene with her two children.
She later saw news footage showing the man in the purple top and his partner lying on the ground, holding each other. "The sight truly left me speechless and in tears," Jenny wrote. "The elderly man, instead of running, rushed towards the danger, fought desperately to grab the gun, and grappled with him fiercely. Such a civilian hero shouldn’t be forgotten!"
Deadliest Attack in Decades
The shooting resulted in a devastating toll. At least 15 people, aged between 10 and 87, were killed. More than 40 others were injured, including four children and two police officers.
This attack now stands as Australia's worst mass shooting since the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, when 35 people were killed. It is also the deadliest anti-Semitic act in the nation's history.
In subsequent video, Sajid Akram appears to fire towards where the couple had been standing before moving onto the footbridge. The newly surfaced footage underscores the raw bravery displayed by ordinary citizens in the face of unimaginable terror at Bondi Beach.
