Security guard Muhammad Taha has opened up on the heartbreaking lasting impact surviving the Westfield Bondi massacre has had on him.
One year ago today, Joel Cauchi entered Westfield Bondi Junction and began attacking people, mostly women, with a fighting knife.
In just three minutes, the 40-year-old fatally stabbed six people and injured ten others.
The 40-year-old took just three minutes to fatally stab six people and injure 10 others before being shot dead by police inspector Amy Scott.
Dawn Singleton, 25, Jade Young, 47, Yixuan Cheng, 27, Pikria Darchia, 55, Ashlee Good, 38, and security guard Faraz Tahir, 30, were all killed in the attack.
Taha, 30, was stabbed in the chest by Cauchi alongside his friend and colleague Tahir after the pair heard screaming and ran towards the knifeman in a bid to stop him.
Tahir, who was working his first shift at the eastern suburbs shopping centre, was jumped on and fatally wounded by Cauchi before the knifeman turned on Taha.
The security guard is still suffering pain from the injuries he sustained a year ago and has said he’s unlikely to ever return to the same type of work.
Security guard Muhammad Taha has opened up on the heartbreaking lasting impact surviving the Bondi Westfield massacre has had on him
Faraz Tahir (pictured) was fatally injured after being jumped on by the knifeman
‘At the last moment, he was with me and everything that happened was in front of my eyes, so it’s very painful,’ he told news.com.au.
‘For the last year, everyone who meets me asks me about my health and talks about that incident.
‘I’m very glad that everyone still remembers me and the efforts we put in and the sacrifices we did.’
Taha was granted permanent residency following the bravery he showed during the attack.
The former security guard spends his time going between Australia and his home country of Pakistan.
Taha was able to call for help via his radio after being stabbed in the left side of his stomach.
He said that both security guards did everything they could to stop Cauchi but may have been able to prevent more fatalities if they’d been able to protect themselves.
NSW Police officer Amy Scott (second from left) laid flowers at the commemorative display
Members of the public lay wreaths at commemorative display boards during Observation of the First Anniversary of the Bondi Junction Tragedy (pictured)
Floral tributes were laid at Westfield Bondi Junction on Sunday
Westfield owner Scentre Group has now enforced body-worn cameras and stab-proof vests after the attack.
However, some advocates don’t feel the measures have gone far enough and security guards should have the option to be armed with items such as capsicum sprays, batons or handcuffs.
On the anniversary of the attack, family members of Tahir lay flowers at commemorative display boards set up at Oxford Street Mall, Westfield Bondi Junction.
NSW Police Inspector Amy Scott, 39, was among the visitors who returned to the scene on Sunday to pay her respects.
Inspector Scott ran to the fifth level of the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre on the day of the attack after being alerted that a man was on a stabbing spree.
She confronted Cauchi and fatally shot him in the chest when he refused to drop the knife.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb have paid tribute to the victims and survivors.
Speaking about the aftermath of the attack, Mr Albanese said: ‘We saw a community united in grief, reaffirming for all of us a core truth: that love is greater than hate,’ he said.
‘The memories of those who didn’t come home one year ago live on in the love they created, and in the hearts that they touched.
‘Remember them today and every single day.’
The police commissioner branded the attack a ‘senseless tragedy’ and said the ‘memory and trauma’ of the Bondi Junction attack will not be forgotten.
