A French shopkeeper who grabbed a bollard and confronted the Westfield Bondi killer said the crazed killer had “empty eyes”.
Damien Guerot was going to the gym with fellow Frenchman Silas Despreaux on Saturday afternoon when they stumbled upon the scene of the massacre.
Guerot grabbed a retractable barrier and confronted the killer Joel Cauchi, 40, as he advanced menacingly down an escalator.
Footage of the tense confrontation went viral on social media, with many praising Guerot’s bravery.
Now the French construction worker has revealed how he and Despreaux thwarted Cauci’s killing spree.
“We tried to catch him but he was coming down the stairs,” Guerot told 7News.
Dmien Guerot grabbed a retractable barrier and confronted killer Joel Cauchi, 40, as he advanced menacingly down an escalator (pictured).
Then we saw him fall and followed him from above. Maybe we tried to throw the bollard at him, but we couldn’t.
Mr. Guerot said he was losing pure “adrenaline.”
‘We don’t think. You can’t think at that moment,’ she said.
Guerot said Cauchi had “empty eyes” and photographs of him published today looked nothing like the man who embarked on an indiscriminate stabbing frenzy.
“His eyes were like empty eyes… he wasn’t there,” Mr. Guerot said.
The two officers threw the bollards at Cauchi but he managed to escape.
Guerot grabbed a chair and chased New South Wales Police Inspector Amy Scott, who shot Cauci dead after he lunged at her.
The Frenchman praised Inspector Scott’s quick thinking.
“She was actually the hero, she did the job,” he said.
Social networks were filled with praise for Guerot.
“This guy, who tries to stop a murderer with a bollard, is really a hero,” wrote one.
Another added: “He deserves a medal.”
Cauchi fatally stabbed six people and wounded at least 12 others in a violent shootout at the busy shopping center Saturday afternoon.
It is feared the death toll could rise as three people, including a baby, fight for their lives.