A French tradie who picked up a bollard and faced down the Westfield Bondi knifeman said the crazed killer had ’empty eyes’.
Damien Guerot was going to the gym with his fellow Frenchman Silas Despreaux on Saturday afternoon when they stumbled across the scene of carnage.
Mr Guerot picked up a retractable barrier and confronted killer Joel Cauchi, 40, as he advanced menacingly up an escalator.
Footage of the tense stand-off went viral on social media, with many praising Mr Guerot’s bravery.
Now, the French construction worker has revealed how he and Mr Despreaux thwarted Cauci’s killing spree.
‘We tried to catch him but he was going down the stairs,’ Mr Guerot told 7News.
Dmien Guerot picked up a retractable barrier and confronted killer Joel Cauchi, 40, as he advanced menacingly up an escalator (pictured)
‘Then we saw him going down so we followed him from the top. We tried to maybe throw the bollard to him but we couldn’t.’
Mr Guerot said he was running off pure ‘adrenaline’.
‘We didn’t think. You cannot think in that moment,’ he said.
Mr Guerot said Cauchi had ’empty eyes’ and pictures of him released 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 mates launched the bollards at Cauchi but he managed to escape.
Mr Guerot grabbed a chair and made chase with NSW Police Inspector Amy Scott who shot Cauci dead after he lunged at her.
The Frenchman praised the quick-thinking of Inspector Scott.
‘She was actually the hero, she did the job,’ he said.
Social media was awash with praise for Mr Guerot.
‘This guy, trying to hold back a murderer with a bollard truly is a hero,’ wrote one.
Another added: ‘He deserves a medal.’
Cauchi fatally stabbed six people and injured at least 12 more in a violent rampage at the busy shopping centre on Saturday afternoon.
There are fears the death toll could rise as three people, including a baby, are fighting for their lives.
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