NEED TO KNOW
- At 6.40pm on Sunday, December 14, shots were fired at Bondi Beach.
- Fifteen victims were killed and dozens more injured after gunmen opened fire.
- Police have deemed the incident a terror attack targeting the Jewish community.
If you or someone you know has been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, help is always available. Call Lifeline Australia on 13 11 14.
Pip Edwards has revealed her terror after she was left trapped under a van during the Bondi Beach shooting.
Australia has been left heartbroken after 15 people were killed when gunmen opened fire on the beach at around 6.40pm on Sunday, December 14.
The shooting has been described as a terror attack by police and targeted locals attending a Jewish Hanukkah celebration in the area.
A 50-year-old man and his 24-year-old son allegedly fired into the crowds from a pedestrian footbridge, with victims ranging in age from 19 to 87 years old, while one shooter was also killed.
Fashion designer Pip, 45, has detailed the terrifying moment she and her friend, Jess Engles, first heard the shots ringing out.
“The gunman fired his first round of shots right behind my girlfriend and I as we had just passed the bridge where they were standing, heading in the direction of the Jewish event/celebration on the Bondi grass,” she wrote on Instagram.
“We immediately ducked between two parked vans as the shots continued to fire incessantly, and quite literally as close as two metres away.”
The two women were forced to hide under a van as one of the gunmen walked in front of them during the terrifying 15-minute ordeal.
“His feet were in front of the van and another gunman’s feet were behind, circling the van,” Pip explained.
“The shots kept firing and we rolled from side to side under the van to hide behind the wheels, as the gunmen’s feet walked around us, trying not to be seen.
“We were under there for 15 minutes in complete panic, shock, almost frozen, couldn’t breathe because we didn’t want to be heard.”
The P.E Nation founder admitted she was “convulsing with fear” until a civilian yelled out and distracted the gunman, pulling him away from their hiding spot.
Pip said her friend, Chris, finally managed to pull them out from under the vehicle after the shooting stopped.
She described the terror attack as a “crazy, wild, and unnecessarily brutal” act, and praised her friend, Jess, for staying calm throughout the ordeal.
“It’s an experience I can’t comprehend nor will probably fully ever grasp,’ she added.
“For now, it’s a day-by-day situation that is already feeling like a mega turbulent rollercoaster in a weird horror movie that can’t stop playing over and over.
“It’s something I will never unsee nor unhear,” she concluded.
Sixteen people, including a child, were killed in the terror attack when two gunmen opened fire at Bondi Beach.
One of the alleged shooters, a 50-year-old man, was shot dead at the scene, while his 24-year-old son, who was allegedly the second gunman, remains in the hospital.
Police said 328 officers have been deployed to provide extra security and support to the Jewish community in Sydney following the tragedy.
