Heroes and acts of heroism unite against an extremist attack in Sydney
On Bondi Beach in Sydney, Sunday witnessed a devastating terrorist attack that became the deadliest in Australian history. But amidst the tragic event, incredible stories of heroism and selflessness emerged, as Australian citizens faced danger and helped others without hesitation.
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After police declared the attack a terrorist act, describing it as the deadliest in Australian history, there were dozens injured and fifteen dead, including a ten-year-old girl.
As the Australian people begin to deal with the shock left by the attack, stories of heroism that took place in the final moments of the event are emerging, gathering tales of courage from ordinary people who took extraordinary stands to help others. These actions made a massive difference and protected the innocent.
The Desire to Protect: How Jessica Performed the Rescue
When gunfire began at Bondi Beach on Sunday, Wessex’s wife, Jessica, found herself in the same nightmare scenario faced by another wife, Wessex. They could not find their children of the same age.
In the chaos, they separately conducted a desperate search across the green area. Men and children who attended to honor the first day of the Jewish holiday cheered and hid, while others ran. Some others could not handle the distance.
The subsequent ten minutes were the longest in their lives.
While his wife’s behavior acted as a shield for her eldest daughter, his mind was elsewhere: with her missing daughter, Jazzy. “We were waiting all that time for the shooting to stop. It felt like an eternity,” Al-Bashir tells us.
Without his knowledge, Jessica’s gaze had fallen on a small girl wearing a sky-colored dress, terrified and alone—searching for her mother and father. She could not protect her own child, so she decided to save this one. She revealed Jesse Jazzy, saying “I am with you,” repeatedly. They could both feel the moment a woman nearly a meter away was shot and killed.
When the air finally calmed, Wessex was convinced that Jazzy was dead.
“I was looking among the blood and bodies,” he says as the intensity in his voice increases. “What I saw—no human being should ever see something like that.”
Eventually, he noticed familiar colors and found his daughter, covered in red—but she was okay, still huddled under Jessica. His stepson was also found later uninjured.
“She said she is just a mother and followed a mother’s instincts,” says Wessex.
“[But] she is a hero. We will be indebted to her until the end of our lives.”
This is one of the remarkable stories of sacrifice and courage that emerged from one of the most terrible days in Australia’s history.
After police declared this a terrorist act, it was the deadliest in Australia’s history. Dozens of people were injured and fifteen people were killed, including a ten-year-old girl, at the hands of attackers believed to have been inspired by the Islamic State group (ISIS).
