In a stunning act of raw courage captured on a car’s dashcam, a retired mechanic and his wife were seen tackling one of the Bondi Beach gunmen, wrestling away his weapon in a desperate, last-ditch attempt to stop the massacre—an act of heroism for which they were both executed moments later.
The newly released video shows Boris Gurman, 69, charging at the attacker as bullets flew, grabbing his rifle and forcing him to the ground in a violent struggle. Gurman then gets up and appears to strike the gunman with the weapon itself before the assailant is thought to have retrieved a second gun and shot the couple dead. The Gurmans, married for 34 years, were the first two people killed in Sunday’s terrorist attack targeting a Jewish Hanukkah celebration.
In a heartbreaking statement, the Gurman family said that while nothing could lessen their pain, they felt “an overwhelming sense of pride in their bravery and selflessness.” They described the couple—Boris, a generous retired mechanic, and Sofia, 61, a beloved Australia Post worker—as people who “instinctively and selflessly tried to help others.”
“This encapsulates who Boris and Sofia were,” the family said. “They were the heart of our family, and their absence has left an immeasurable void.” Witnesses who saw the confrontation immediately labeled Boris a “hero.”
The woman who owned the dashcam told Reuters, “He did not run away – instead, he charged straight toward the danger, using all his strength trying to wrestle away the gun and fighting to the death.” She added, “That moment broke my heart.”
Their Bravery in the Face of Terror
The Gurmans’ sacrifice was part of a harrowing pattern of civilian bravery that day. Earlier, bystander Ahmed al Ahmed, 43, was hailed as a hero after he too wrestled a gun from an attacker, surviving multiple gunshot wounds. His father said his son was driven by his “conscience” after seeing “the victims, the blood, women and children lying on the street.”
The attack, which left 15 dead—including a 10-year-old girl, a rabbi, and a Holocaust survivor—was carried out by a father and son duo, Sajid and Naveed Akram. Police allege they were motivated by Islamic State ideology, finding homemade IS flags and improvised explosive devices in their vehicle.
Why It Matters
A chilling new dimension to the investigation emerged as police confirmed the attackers traveled to the Philippines in the weeks before the attack, arriving on November 1 and departing on November 28. While the official purpose of the trip is under investigation, unconfirmed media reports suggest the pair may have received “military-style training” in Southeast Asia.
The dashcam footage does more than document a crime; it immortalizes a choice. In the split second between hearing gunshots and deciding to act, Boris and Sofia Gurman chose to run toward the bullets, not away from them. Their final, futile fight on a Sydney road now stands as the defining, heartbreaking image of a day marked by both unimaginable evil and extraordinary, selfless courage.
