Dashcam footage reveals final moments of heroic couple killed in Bondi Beach attack
Following widespread attention on Ahmed al Ahmed, the 43-year-old fruit vendor who confronted one of the attackers during the Bondi Beach mass shooting in Sydney, new dashcam footage has emerged showing another act of courage.
While Ahmed survived bullet wounds to his arm and hand, 69-year-old Boris Gurman and his wife, Sofia, 61, did not.
The video captures a Jewish couple—Boris Gurman, 69, and his wife Sofia, 61—stepping in to protect others during the early moments of the attack.
Gurman, a retired mechanic, is seen in the footage wearing a purple shirt, charging at an armed assailant in a black shirt, attempting to disarm him while his wife stood beside him.
Witness accounts and the video suggest the attacker had another firearm, which was then used to fatally shoot the couple. Both Boris and Sofia were among the first victims of the incident, according to the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper.
The Gurman family released a statement describing the couple's actions as instinctively selfless.
“While nothing can lessen the pain of losing Boris and Sofia, we feel an overwhelming sense of pride in their bravery and selflessness. This encapsulates who Boris and Sofia were—people who instinctively and selflessly tried to help others.”
The couple had been married for 34 years, with their 35th anniversary approaching in January.
“We were looking forward to celebrating Sofia’s 62nd birthday on Wednesday, 17 December,” the family added.
Witnesses have described Gurman as a hero. The woman who shared the dashcam footage told Reuters, “Mr Gurman did not run away—instead, he charged straight toward the danger, using all his strength trying to wrestle away the gun and fighting to the death.”
“Everyone needs to know what he tried, because it was right in the beginning. And he put himself in that face of danger. There were bullets flying already, and he put his self in the face of danger,” another witness told reporters.
The attack, which occurred during a Hanukkah event, left at least 15 people dead and 22 others injured, nine critically. Victims ranged in age from 10 to 87, including a child, a rabbi, a former police officer, and a Holocaust survivor.
Authorities have classified the shooting as a terrorist act targeting the Jewish community. Police identified the attackers as a father and son, Sajid and Naveed Akram. The father, aged 50, was killed by officers at the scene, while the 24-year-old son remains in hospital.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the incident, calling it “An act of evil anti-Semitism, terrorism that has struck the heart of our nation.”
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
