The government is investigating whether it can grant a visa to a security guard who was stabbed in the stomach after he bravely confronted a crazed knifeman during a stabbing attack in Westfield Bondi Junctin.
Muhammad Taha, who is originally from Pakistan, was patrolling the fourth floor of the mall on Saturday afternoon when Cauchi started randomly stabbing strangers.
Yesterday he asked why he had not been offered citizenship as a ‘Bollard Man’.
Nat Barr asked the same question to Secretary of Defense Richard Marles on her Sunrise program.
‘Mr Taha wants to know where his visa is after the Prime Minister told the bold hero that he can stay in Australia for as long as he wants. Can Mr. Taha stay too?’
Mr Marles said his visa application would be processed by the immigration minister.
‘I am not aware of Mr Taha’s application, but the minister will no doubt be working on it.
“I want to say very clearly that Mr Taha’s actions are extremely courageous.
“From that tragedy come these incredible stories of courage, for which the nation is truly indebted, and I am sure Mr Taha’s circumstances will be come to terms with.”
Mr Taha and his new colleague, Faraz Tahir, ran towards Cauchi, unaware that he was wielding a 30cm hunting knife.
Tahir, 30, who was on his first shift at the mall, was stabbed to death, becoming Cauchi’s only male victim among the six people who were tragically killed.
Meanwhile, Mr Taha was stabbed in the stomach but managed to call other security personnel for help, making him one of the first people to raise the alarm.
Muhammad Taha (pictured above), who is originally from Pakistan, was patrolling the fourth floor of Westfield Bondi Junction on Saturday afternoon when Joel Cauchi started randomly stabbing strangers
Joel Cauchi is pictured during the rampage at Westfield Bondi Junction
Mr Taha was stabbed in the stomach but managed to call other security personnel for help. This made him one of the first people to raise the alarm (photo: he is still recovering in hospital)
“Another individual bravely tried to stop the attacker using a bollard and was subsequently offered a residency permit by the Australian Prime Minister for his courageous actions,” Taha said. The Australian yesterday from his hospital bed before the Albanian government dealt with the case this morning.
“Similarly, I believe that, as a direct victim of the incident, I deserve recognition and attention for my citizenship.
“Moreover, the guards who worked next to them came running to the point of the incident and risked their lives… (they) should also be given citizenship.”
Mr Taha was referring to Frenchman Damien Guerot who went viral after footage of him looking at Cauchi at the top of an escalator while holding a bollard went viral.
He was quickly nicknamed the ‘Bollard Man’ and for his bravery, Anthony Albanese offered him citizenship on Tuesday, claiming he was ‘welcome to stay as long’ as he wants.
But Mr Taha, whose subclass 487 skilled visa expires next month, has questioned why the same recognition has not been extended to himself and other first responders who faced danger.
Daily Mail Australia approached the Prime Minister’s office for comment.
Damien Guerot was offered citizenship by Anthony Albanese because of his courage
Frenchman Damien Guerot went viral after footage of him looking at Cauchi at the top of an escalator while holding a bollard went viral
Cauchi’s other victims were all women.
They were new mother Ashlee Good, 38, bride-to-be Dawn Singleton, 25 – daughter of millionaire businessman John Singleton – mother of two Jade Young, 47, artist Pikria Darchia, 55, and Chinese national Yixuan Cheng, 27.
The terrifying ordeal came to an end when Senior Police Officer Amy Scott shot Cauchi dead after telling him to drop the knife.
Guerot’s father told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday that his 31-year-old son was so full of adrenaline that he went jogging for two hours after confronting the killer.
Loic Guerot said from his home in France: ‘I’ve had a lot of trouble sleeping, it’s unbelievable. I can’t find the words, I’m very proud.’
The family comes from Saint-Jean-sur-Mayenne, in the Loire Valley, about 200 miles southwest of Paris.
Mr Guerot left the city six years ago and is now happily settled in Australia working as a carpenter.
Guerot admitted he could have lost his son in the stabbing, adding: “He feels very, very good now. Then he went jogging for two hours.
The six victims who died (from top left): Yixuan Cheng, Ashlee Good, Pikria Darchia, Jade Young, Dawn Singleton and Faraz Tahir
‘We talked for two hours and then he went to sleep. And then to work the next morning!’
‘He always has the same values and always thinks about others.
‘He has always been a go-getter, that’s how he is. He always thinks of others and not of himself!’ Mr Guerot added.
A childhood friend in Saint-Jean-sur-Mayenne, who asked not to be named, said: “Damien is an incredible guy, and extremely understated at that.
‘He knows he’s famous all over the world now, but he doesn’t want to brag. He’s just going about his normal life, like he always does.”
President Emmanuel Macron himself has also praised Mr Guerot and his compatriot Silas Despreaux for helping to stop the knifeman.
“Two of our compatriots behaved like real heroes,” Macron wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
‘Very great pride and recognition.’
Mr. Guerot was at the gym with Mr. Despreaux on Saturday afternoon when they came across the scene of a massacre.
Terrifying details have emerged about the day knifeman Joel Cauchi killed six people in a murderous stabbing at Westfield Bondi Junction Shopping Center
“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.
“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 Cauchi after he lunged at her.
The Frenchman praised Inspector Scott’s quick thinking.
“She was basically the hero, she did the work,” he said.
Westfield will reopen on Thursday for a day of ‘quiet’ reflection within the community before trading resumes on Friday.