A teenage girl caught up in the Bondi Beach massacre used her body to shield two children whose mothers lay dead nearby.
The 14-year-old was caught up in gunfire while attending ‘Chanukah by the Sea’ at 6.40pm on Sunday when Sajid Akram, 50, and his son Naveed, 24, allegedly opened fire.
The teenager was shot during the attack, but rather than trying to save herself, she stayed at the scene and shielded the children.
The girl, who is in hospital, has been hailed a hero in local social media groups.
One post read: ‘A 14-year-old girl who was shot and injured in the deadly attack in Sydney, Australia, shared that after she was shot and injured, she lay down over two young children whose mothers were murdered in the attack, thereby saving their lives.
‘A true heroine.’
Group members praised her for her bravery.
‘Such a pure heart thinking and doing for others after she was seriously injured. Bravery award for this amazing young girl. Speedy recovery,’ one person wrote.
Pictured: The 14-year-old girl recovering in hospital, after saving the lives of two young children
Police allege Naveed (left) and his father Sajid (right) stood on a footbridge allegedly firing shots into a crowd of people celebrating the first day of Hanukkah on the iconic beach
Another said: Wishing you a very speedy recovery. Sending much love to you and all the people that surround you. You are one of our special angels.’
Sixteen people were killed in the attack, including gunman Sajid Akram, 50, while a further 42 were injured.
Naveed Akram was taken to hospital with bullet wounds after being shot by police.
He woke from a coma on Tuesday and continues to recover under police guard.
Father-of-five Rabbi Eli Schlanger was among the dead, with his funeral set to take place on Wednesday.
His wife Chaya was grazed by a bullet and released from hospital on Monday, while their two-month-old baby remains in hospital after being struck by shrapnel.
The youngest to die in the attack was ten-year-old Matilda.
Her parents, Valentina and Michael, paid tribute to her at a memorial at Bondi Beach on Tuesday night.
Rabbi Eli Schlanger (pictured) will be laid to rest at a funeral service today at Chabbad of Bondi on Wednesday
One of the last photos taken of Matilda (left) and her little sister Summer at the Chanukah by the Sea event on Sunday
Matilda’s parents Valentina and and Michael attended a vigil for the victims on Tuesday night (pictured)
Michael told the crowd she was a ‘beautiful person’, as he held a framed photo of her.
‘Her name was Matilda because she was our first Australian,’ he said.
‘We came here from Ukraine … and I thought that Matilda is the most Australian name that can ever exist. So just remember the name, remember her.’
Matilda’s mother said: ‘It wasn’t just a bullet from a spray. It wasn’t an accident. It was a bullet fired on her.’
Her brother said it was some consolation that Matilda was surrounded by her family.
‘She knew she was loved, that she wasn’t alone,’ he said.
There are still 24 injured patients across eight hospitals around Sydney, with 16 in a stable condition and eight in a critical condition.
An eight-week-old baby boy who was hospitalised with shrapnel wounds to his body, including to his face, was discharged from Sydney’s Children’s Hospital in Randwick on Tuesday. Two more injured children remain at the same hospital.
