Westfield Bondi Junction ‘bollard man’ hero offered Australian citizenship
A Frenchman who confronted the Bondi Junction attacker has been allowed to stay in Australia, with Anthony Albanese promising to grant him citizenship after his heroic act.
Damien Guerot was nicknamed the ‘Bollard Man’ after a viral video showed him bravely confronting stabber Joel Cauchi on an escalator, one of many instances in which he rushed to help others in need.
It is understood he intervened to prevent the attacker from reaching an area where many children were playing at Westfield Bondi Junction.
His visa expires in a month, and a petition has been launched to grant him Australian citizenship following his heroic actions during the Bondi Junction stabbing.
Mr Albanese was asked about Mr Guerot’s visa on Tuesday morning.
“I say this to Damien Guerot, who is handling his visa applications, that you are welcome here. You are welcome to stay as long as you want.
“This is someone we would be happy to welcome as an Australian citizen, although that would of course be a loss for France.
‘We thank him for his extraordinary courage. It says a lot about the nature of humanity.
“At a time when we are facing difficult issues, someone who is not a citizen of this country bravely stood at the top of the escalators and prevented this perpetrator from going to another floor and possibly causing even more carnage of the citizens to target.
“I think we saw the best of human characters on Saturday, whilst at the same time seeing such a devastating tragedy and I thank Damien for his extraordinary efforts.
He was at the gym with fellow countryman Silas Despreaux on Saturday afternoon when they came across the scene of a massacre.
“We tried to get him, but he went down the stairs,” Guerot told 7News.
“Then we saw him go down, so we followed him from the top. We might have tried to throw the bollard at him, but it didn’t work.’
Mr. Guerot said he was running on pure “adrenaline.”
‘We didn’t think. You can’t think at that moment,” he said.
Mr Guerot said Cauchi had “empty eyes” and that the photos of him released today looked nothing like the man who went on a random stabbing frenzy.
“His eyes looked like empty eyes… he wasn’t there,” Guerot said.
The two mates launched the bollards at Cauchi, but he managed to escape.
Mr Guerot grabbed a chair and gave chase with NSW Police Inspector Amy Scott, who shot dead Cauci after lunging at her.
The Frenchman praised Inspector Scott’s quick thinking.
“She was basically the hero, she did the work,” he said.