Sydney mall stabbing: France’s ‘Bollard Man’ gains Australian residency for confronting killer, thanks to PM Albanese
- Damien Guerot was made an Australian permanent resident, as a reward for his heroism during a knife attack in a Sydney shopping centre that left 6 victims dead
- The French construction worker’s visa was due to expire in July until PM Anthony Albanese intervened with an invitation to settle in Australia
Guerot was nicknamed “Bollard Man” on social media after security camera footage showed the 31-year-old standing at the top of an escalator at the Westfield Bondi Junction mall on Saturday and warding off knife-wielding Joel Cauchi with a plastic barrier post. Cauchi fled down the escalator, and people on Guerot’s floor were safe.
It’s just unbelievable … [but] how can I be also happy when … many people and families … are very sad for their loss?
“It’s just unbelievable,” he said. But, he added, “How can I be also happy when … many people and families … are very sad for their loss?”
Guerot was also filmed brandishing a plastic chair as he ran toward Cauchi behind Police Inspector Amy Scott. Guerot along with fellow French national and colleague Silas Despreaux were with Scott when she ended Cauchi’s rampage with a fatal shot.
Despreaux, like Guerot, had chased Cauchi and threw a barrier post at the killer but didn’t seem to appear on footage posted on social media or broadcast by the news.