As Australia grapples with the aftermath of the Bondi terrorist attack, more details are starting to emerge. And amongst the horror, extraordinary acts of civilians and their moments of heroism are coming to light.
Edie Christopher, 18, was working a shift at the North Bondi RSL when news of the shooting started filtering through the venue.
She told Mamamia she was initially in disbelief, but, within minutes, her place of work had turned into a makeshift shelter.
"We were working behind the bar and a woman came around to the side of the bar, and she just said to me 'there are shots being fired'," Edie said.
"Once we'd gotten word of what was happening, the first thing everyone did was close the doors and rush to the back of the venue.
"No one has been trained for an event like this. We had two security at the front of the venue, both young individuals who had not been trained for a circumstance like this, and who were super brave and put their bodies on the line, guarded the door, and communicated super well.
"It's so impressive how everyone handled the situation."
Edie was working a shift when the shooting started. Image: Supplied.
Edie's brother, Leo Christopher, had just wrapped his own bartending shift nearby at the surf club when the attack started.
"Everyone ran out onto the balcony to look what was happening, so that's kind of how I got wind of it," the 24-year-old told Mamamia.
"People started just running in every different direction and hiding, which you could see from the balcony. A lot of people ran towards the club to seek refuge.
"That's when I started to realise what was happening, because there were people coming in through the doors injured."
That's when Leo mobilised, unaware that his sister was doing the same at the RSL; a triage ward was set up in one of the rooms of the surf club.
Listen: The latest on the Bondi terror attack. Post continues below.
"There's a lot of people in the club who are a lot better trained with first aid than me, a lot of patrolling members were there," he explained.
"I was directing people to them. There was a lot of good people in the surf club that actually went out to help or stayed in and helped injured people.
"Watching everyone, how they reacted, there was a lot of people doing a lot of heroic things, there were people standing out on the beach, like ushering people into the club, putting themselves in harm's way.
"The thing that affected me the most, and made me the saddest, was seeing kids come up without their parents, just completely terrified. Then the parents running in, just yelling after their kids, not knowing where they were."
An image on social media shows one lifeguard running barefoot from Tamarrama to Bondi with a trauma kit in hand.
A source close to the individual pictured confirmed to Mamamia they rendered first aid to victims at the scene.
"In the midst of it all, the boys actually performed two rescues. One of the lifeguards had two patients on the board while gun shots were still going off," the source said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
"One senior lifeguard was the absolute first responder on the scene rendering serious and lifesaving first aid with tourniquets and performing resuscitations until the rest of the staff arrived.
"Off-duty lifeguards rushed to help victims from their nearby homes.
"It was described as something out of a war movie."
Footage was widely circulated of one man who confronted and disarmed one of the gunmen. He has since been identified as Ahmed al Ahmed, a 43-year-old tobacco shop owner.
His actions have been widely praised and credited with saving many lives.
Premier Chris Minns called him a "real-life hero". "His incredible bravery no doubt saved countless lives when he disarmed a terrorist at enormous personal risk," he added.
Ahmed was reportedly shot twice in the upper left shoulder, and faces a long journey to recovery, likely involving multiple surgeries.
His parents, Mohamed Fateh Al Ahmed and Malakeh Hasan Al Ahmed, spoke to the ABC, saying they landed in Sydney from Syria just a couple of months ago. They'd been apart from their son since he first came to Australia in 2006.
"He saw they were dying, and people were losing their lives, and when that guy [the shooter] ran out of ammo, he took it from him, but he was hit," his mother said. "We pray that God saves him."
Ahmed al Ahmed is the father of two daughters — aged three and six — but his family said he would have done anything to protect others.
"When he did what he did, he wasn't thinking about the background of the people he's saving, the people dying in the street," his father said. "He doesn't discriminate between one nationality and another. Especially here in Australia, there's no difference between one citizen and another."
Ahmed al Ahmed crept up behind an anti-semitic terrorist, and took his gun. Image: Supplied.
In the video of Ahmed, another man is seen throwing items at the gunman as Ahmed wrestles the gun from his hands.
He's since been identified as 62-year-old businessman Reuven Morrison.
Morrison's daughter Sheina Gutnick said her father picked up a brick from the ground and threw it at the shooter. Just moments later, he was fatally shot.
Gutnick told ABC her father's selfless act, of getting the shooter's attention and attempting to place himself in front of others when the shooting began, allowed a woman and her baby to flee to safety.
In a statement to ABC, Gutnick said her father, "Did not cower. He did not lay low. He sprang to action. To fight."
"From my sources and understanding, he had jumped up the second the shooting started. He managed to throw bricks… he was screaming at the terrorist, and protecting his community. He was shot dead," she later told CBS News.
"If there was one way for him to go on this earth, it would be fighting a terrorist. There was no other way he would be taken from us.
"He went down fighting, protecting the people he loved most.
"That's him. That's my dad. As I called him, my Tati, in Yiddish."
Gutnick remembered her father as an "incredible man that was just too big for this world".
"The light that he added, his absolute immense and endless generosity, his sense of humour. He was just the most incredible person."
Morrison leaves behind a wife, daughter and grandchildren.
Image: Supplied.
In another video, Boris and Sofia Gurman are seen confronting one of the gunmen.
Dashcam footage being circulated shows Boris, wearing a purple shirt, tackling one of the shooters as the man emerges from a car with an ISIS flag draped over its front windscreen.
Boris appears to push the gunman onto the road and wrestle a firearm from his hand. Sofia also rushes into the confrontation. They were both killed.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports the couple, who'd been married 34 years, were the first victims of the attack — heroes who bravely tried to stop it before the massacre began.
"This act of bravery and selflessness reflects exactly who they were: people who instinctively chose to help, even at great personal risk," their family said in a statement.
"While nothing can lessen the pain of this loss, we feel immense pride in their courage and humanity."
The couple were due to celebrate Sofia's birthday on Wednesday, December 17, and their 35th wedding anniversary next month.
Boris and Sofia confront the gunman. Image: Supplied.
As people fled for their lives, many left their belongings behind, focused on saving themselves and their loved ones.
Locals stepped in as the beach reopened, picking up items and lining the entrance to the beach with them for people to easily pick back up. They even matched pairs of shoes back together.
Bondi early morning swimmer Holly Harris was among those to help.
"I was shocked to see, obviously, that people had just got up and run and they've left phones, wallets, picnics and shoes — I've collected so many pairs of shoes," she told ABC.
"Because the tide was coming in, we've just moved everything off the shoreline.
"We can't let this sort of fear instil in our society. We've just got to get on with it and make sure our beautiful Bondi is brought back to where it should be."
Shoes lined the entrance to the sand. Image: AAP.
Footage is also circulating online showing many Bondi residents letting strangers take shelter in their homes.
One mother, Heather Nolan, told ABC News that she had ventured to the beach with her children to get Santa photos and have dinner at the RSL, when she heard gunshots.
"There was a wooden bench, and I put my kids behind the bench," she told ABC News.
"I covered them and then a man came. He was bleeding and he sat down on the bench. Somebody came and opened the changeroom door and was ushering people inside — we ran inside there," she told the outlet.
"My 11-year-old was amazing because she said that she actually felt better when she was able to help other people. She was going around to the other kids in the changeroom and saying like, 'Are you OK? Let's play a game.' Trying to get their minds off because a lot of kids were crying."
Vladimir Kotlyar, a Jewish chaplain and paramedic who was at the event, told 7News he fell on top of his eight-year-old son when the shots rang out. When the immediate threat had passed, Kotlyar immediately started helping the injured.
NSW Health Minister Ryan Park confirmed that police stepped in to drive ambulances to allow paramedics to perform their duties in the back of those ambulances.
Lifeblood Australia's website also temporarily crashed after being inundated with people looking to donate blood. Australians are being urged to come forward to donate in order to help the injured in hospital.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last night condemned the attack, while praising the actions of first responders and bystanders.
"We are also thinking of everyone being treated for their injuries and many of whom are alive right now because of the courage and quick action of the NSW Police and the first responders who rushed to their aid, as well as the courage of everyday Australians who, without hesitating, put themselves in danger in order to keep their fellow Australians safe," he said.
"We have seen Australians today run towards danger in order to help others. These Australians are heroes and their bravery has saved lives," he said.
How to help following the Bondi Beach shooting.
In the aftermath of the Bondi Beach shooting, many people are searching for meaningful ways to help during the incredibly distressing time. If you're able:
You can support victims and their families by donating to verified GoFundMe fundraisers established in response to the attack here.
By giving blood at your nearest Australian Red Cross Lifeblood centre, to help those receiving medical care. Find your nearest donation centre here.
You can also pay your respects and share messages of support via the NSW Government's Online Condolence Book, which offers comfort and solidarity to those affected. You can sign the book here.
Feature image: Instagram/@thebondilifeguardsofficial/@alexandra_2026.
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