‘I Just Had to Act’: Bondi Beach Hero Speaks Out After Deadly Stabbing Rampage

A split-second decision

BONDI, NSW—Damien Gower had only popped out for a flat white. Minutes later the 42-year-old carpenter was sprinting across the sun-lit promenade, armed with nothing more than a borrowed skateboard and the conviction that someone had to stop the screaming.

‘He was heading for the kids’

Witnesses say the assailant, now identified as 34-year-old Joel Cauchi, had already stabbed seven people near the Bondi Pavilion when Gower intervened. Mobile footage shows Gower planting himself between the knifeman and a cluster of terrified toddlers lining up for ice-cream.

‘I didn’t feel brave. I felt furious—furious he kept swinging at people who couldn’t defend themselves,’ Gower told reporters from St Vincent’s Hospital, a thick white bandage taped across his forearm.

Chaos on Australia’s most famous strip

By the time police arrived, six victims lay bleeding on the golden sand. Five remain in critical but stable condition; a 20-year-old woman died en-route to hospital. Officers shot Cauchi dead after he refused repeated orders to drop his 30-centimetre kitchen knife.

• Attack began at 2:14 p.m. outside the beachfront changerooms
• Police response time: five minutes, 19 seconds
• Hero bystanders treated victims with towels and surfboard leg-ropes before paramedics arrived

‘He’s the reason I’m alive’

Among the survivors is 19-year-old uni student Maya Singh, who credits Gower with saving her life. ‘He distracted the man, yelled at us to run—then he charged,’ Singh said, voice cracking. ‘I keep replaying it. He had no armour, no weapon—just guts.’

Community unites

Overnight, hundreds laid flowers beneath the Bondi graffiti wall. A candlelight vigil is planned for Sunday, with local surf clubs paddling out in solidarity. A GoFundMe for victims’ medical costs has topped AU$420,000 in 18 hours.

Police commend ‘extraordinary courage’

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb praised Gower and other bystanders, saying their actions ‘undoubtedly prevented further loss of life’. Investigators continue to comb CCTV for a motive; early findings suggest Cauchi, a Queensland resident, acted alone and had a history of mental-health issues.

For Gower, the accolades feel surreal. ‘I’m not a hero,’ he insists. ‘I’m just a bloke who couldn’t stand there and watch innocent people die.’