As praise continues for shop owner Ahmad Al-Ahmad, who bravely disarmed one of the attackers during the deadly Bondi Beach assault in Sydney, attention has also turned to other civilians who showed extraordinary courage while trying to stop the violence.
Among them was 62-year-old Reuven Morrison, who was fatally shot after attempting to intervene. According to his daughter, Morrison rushed toward the gunfire, throwing objects at the attacker and shouting in an effort to protect his community. “If there was one way for him to leave this world, it would be fighting a terrorist,” she said.
Video footage circulating on social media appears to show Morrison chasing one of the attackers moments after Al-Ahmad disarmed him. Morrison, who emigrated from the former Soviet Union, was later shot and killed, becoming one of 15 victims in Australia’s deadliest mass shooting in nearly three decades.
Additional footage shows another unidentified couple confronting one of the gunmen in an attempt to stop him, before they were also reportedly shot. Verified dashcam video captured a struggle between an elderly man and an attacker over a weapon, ending with both falling to the ground behind a silver car, before the man and a woman are seen rising with the weapon.
The actions of these civilians have been widely hailed as acts of self-sacrifice and bravery in the face of terror.
