"Utter SCUMBAGS" Bondi Beach Terror Hell By Cricket Legend Michael Vaughan
At least 16 people have been shot dead and another 40 are left hospitalised after two gunmen targeted Australia's Jewish community at Bondi Beach in Sydney. Hundreds had gathered there to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah before the attack took place, which was stopped by a courageous bystander who de-armed one of the gunmen with his bare hands. Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan was enjoying a meal nearby with his family, when the restaurant was put on lockdown because of the terror attack. He tells Piers Morgan more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Bondi Attack and Cricket Captain00:15:18
Well as these extraordinary events unfold on Bondi Beach in Sydney today, one of the worst terror attacks in Australian history, a former England cricket captain, Michael Vaughan, posted on X that he was actually in a restaurant in Bondi about 500 yards from where all this was happening and was locked in the restaurant until he was allowed to go and Michael now joins me.
Michael, good to see you.
First of all, I'm glad you're okay.
It sounded terrifying.
Just talk me through what exactly happened from your perspective.
Yeah, we've been as a family watching our son play cricket.
It was a beautiful day.
They call it the Sunday session in Australia.
So we were going to a restaurant.
The restaurant booking was for half past seven.
We got there at six o'clock.
So we're in the pub just having a few drinks, waiting for one of our friends' daughters actually.
And I was outside on the phone at around 4, 6, 6.45 to around 6.51.
And then all of a sudden, all the police cars were flying by.
And usually when you're around Bondi and there's a bit of police around, I presume it was a shark attack or something happening down on the beach.
I didn't expect what I then found out a few minutes later when there was a security guard outside the pub basically telling us there was someone with a gun and people were being held hostage.
That was what we were being told in at the pub at that stage.
So we all got told to get inside the pub.
We then went into the restaurant.
More news could start to filter through that there had been an attack down on the beach.
You know, we didn't really understand what was going on at that stage.
Then more and more news started to transcend that it was a terror attack.
That was the news that was hitting everyone around where we were.
And then it wasn't much long after that they shut the doors and they locked people, obviously, that were in the restaurant and the pub inside and told us all to stay.
And we didn't really know what was going on.
Then there was more news came that there was so much happening on social media that they said that there were more attacks going on around Sydney and around the city, which thankfully wasn't proving to be the case.
But for a period we didn't have a clue really what was going on and we were just locked inside this restaurant.
Which restaurant was it?
It was Tottie's.
It was Tottis.
I was in the pub, the Royal.
You've been out here, Piers.
The Sunday session is particularly when the sun shines, it is so busy everywhere in Australia on a day like it was.
And to see so many young, it was the young people that was in the pub and everyone's on the phones and people were shouting out.
We did hear a few screams of people running up from the beach and we didn't really know what had gone on.
So for that period, particularly when the security guards started to say get inside and one security guard gave the kind of the look of a gun and not in his hand but in his hand in terms of he was trying to tell everyone there's guns around.
We didn't have a clue how many and how many people were involved.
So for a period, and for quite an hour or two, we were all up in arms in terms of what was happening and how obviously it's an awful awful, tragic event that's happened on Bondi Beach.
But for a period we thought it was going to be even more, because all the messaging, particularly on social media, was so many people posting that there was more attacks and there was more people involved.
We didn't quite understand what was happening.
How far was the place that you were in Tottis, from where you eventually discovered that the shooting was happening?
I think five or six hundred yards were close and there was so many police as you, as you've seen on the television.
And then the helicopters were above and there was more than one.
We didn't have a great deal of knowledge of exactly what was going on but when you're with a young family and a young daughter you're a bit wary of being too dramatic because you don't want to scare her and make her think that it's a lot worse.
But I knew personally that it was obviously very, very awful what was going on and we didn't have a kind of indication of what was going to happen next.
When you see security guards kind of pushing people back into the pub and the doors getting locked you do start to where I've been at home when there's been terror attacks around the world and in the UK and I watch it on the television and to be so close to one and to be in a position where a security guard's locking the doors of your restaurant is pretty scary.
Very scary.
When you found out the reality that there were two shooters who had opened fire on a Jewish celebration of Hanukkah going on on the beach, that's an annual event, it's been going on for a few years, that there were hundreds of Jewish people, families, just celebrating the festival of Hanukkah.
What did you feel when you hear that?
Well, it's anger.
Innocent people's lives just being ruined for what?
You know, we've all been, anyone that's been to Australia and Sydney and been on Bondi Beach, been on the great beaches, been in Sydney itself, it's such a place for everyone.
It's such a place where we celebrate everybody's lives.
And, you know, you come here because you feel safe.
You know, this is why you come to Australia.
There's so many areas of the world I think that we live in now that potentially aren't safe, but this is the one haven that you just feel completely safe.
And to think that a group of innocent people have been attacked celebrating their religion, it's awful.
You know, I know Australian people well and they'll rally around, but to think that there's a community that's having to go through what they've gone through yesterday and beyond.
It's not just those that have been affected yesterday, it's all the way around the world.
It's an awful time that we're living in.
I just feel for all those people that have been really affected by it, particularly the close family friend.
The civilian that grabbed hold of the terrorist, well, you can only say that, you know, how many lives has he saved?
You know, what would have happened if he hadn't done what he's done?
So there are some great people out there and Australia will fight back.
You know them, Piers, they'll fight back from this, but it's going to take a bit of time.
I mean, I spend a lot of time, as you know, working and living in America, where mass shootings, very sadly, have become part of life there and happen on a very regular basis.
But it's very, very unusual in Australia.
There was a terrible one in Tasmania back in the mid-90s.
And after that, they brought in a lot of new gun laws.
And it's really been hardly anything like this ever since.
And I think that's what's really hit the Australian people that I've spoken to today is it's so unusual this, isn't it?
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Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, there was an attack at Bondi Junction a few years ago, a knife attack.
But as you mentioned, guns are very rarely heard of here in Australia.
That's why I keep saying, you know, Australia is a safe haven.
That's why people come here.
They feel that they're really safe here.
And to think that we've just gone through what's gone and happened at Bondi, such an iconic venue.
You say Australia, within four or five sentences, someone will say Bondi Beach.
That's the venue that we're talking about.
And to think that it's been this incredibly awful attack that's targeted a community for just celebrating a religion.
It's tragic.
When you were eventually allowed out, Michael, from the pub, I mean, what was the sort of feeling from everybody who'd been inside, perhaps slowly becoming aware of just how bad this was and how close you'd all been to it?
Well, it probably hasn't hit me yet, Piers, to be honest.
We're only 24, well, 12 hours away from it happening.
And, you know, the Uber drivers weren't working.
The taxi drivers were trying to do their best, but trying to get an Uber was near unimpossible.
Fortunately, I had a friend who came and picked us up, picked all our family up, and had to do a double trip because there was more than obviously people could fit in his car.
So we were lucky that we could get out there.
There wasn't, you know, people were quite calm.
I think, you know, the police have done such an amazing job and we felt safe.
You know, we didn't feel at that stage that anything was going to happen.
And it was just a matter of making sure that people could get home and everyone was helping each other.
And yeah, we just were very fortunate that we had a good old mate of ours who came and picked us up and got us back home.
Could you have been on the beach at any stage in the evening?
Would you normally do that?
I do the cooji to Bondi Walk all the time.
Yeah, I know.
You know, in mornings, I've done it at night.
You know, there's many fish and chip shops that I sit outside on the beach in Bondi.
And there's the grass bank where, you know, I've seen the footage from.
I sit on there regularly with an ice cream.
I go on the beach, go in the sea.
To see the footage of all the people on the beach running away, I didn't think I'd see that here in Australia.
So as I said, there's a lot of talking and there's a lot of hard work to do to get this back on track.
But Australia are tough and they'll rally round.
But all our thoughts have to be to all those families and friends that have been dearly affected by this.
You referenced earlier this guy, Ahmed El-Ahmed, who just risked his life to go and disarm one of the two terrorists.
He then got shot by the other one twice, is in hospital.
We believe he's going to be okay, but obviously an absolutely stunning act of heroism.
What did you make of it when you saw the footage of what he did?
Well, you just never know how people are going to react.
And you would be completely understanding if anyone runs away from that situation.
You know, that's probably the way that most people would react is to get themselves safe, to make sure they're fine.
But to think that he's gone and run and then jumps on the back of someone with a gun and then he's managed to wrestle it off him and then he didn't shoot him.
You know, he just held the gun and then he put it down and then he got shot himself.
I can't, even for my life, think of what I would do in that situation.
But I pretty much guarantee, Piers, I don't think I'd have done that.
Right.
Henero.
I don't think many people would.
No, well, you just think of yourself and you probably hide under the car or you just run away.
To think that he's in that moment reacted in that way with a huge amount of bravery but calmness to deal with that and think, right, I'm going to go and jump on his back.
And look, he looks a big fella as well.
And he managed to wrestle him down.
But it was the fact that he didn't shoot him.
He kind of was calm himself, which shows what an incredibly human being he must be.
Delighted to say, I hope he's absolutely fine.
Because as I said before, I've no idea how many lives he's saved, but he saved plenty.
Yeah, I mean, he's a father of two.
He's 43 years old.
He runs a fruit shop.
This is all the reporting we're getting, including from his family.
And one report I read just before we started the interview is that the reason he put the gun down was he didn't want the police who were now on the scene or coming to think he was one of the shooters.
So he was obviously very quick thinking.
He'd never had any experience, according to his family, with firearms whatsoever.
So it wasn't an astounding act of courage.
I mean, it's gone massive around the world this on social media, as you're probably aware.
But I would imagine that for Australians, he's going to be a national hero, isn't he?
Yeah, without any question, he's going to be lauded, but we shouldn't be living in a world, Piers, where this happens.
But to think that he's acted in that manner, you know, he will be awarded every honour that he can possibly get, but I'm sure he'll be the first to say that he wished he didn't have to do what he had to do.
But the amount of people that he saved and the bravery and the calmness, you know, we need more people like that in the world.
Not the two that attacked the innocent people.
We need more people like him.
You obviously posted that you'd been there, that you then went to bed.
You're waking up now.
All the front pages I've been seeing are obviously just completely wiping out on this dreadful attack.
One of the darkest days in Australian history, they're calling it, I think, in the Australian.
The backdrop, of course, as to why you're there is you're there for the Ashes series.
Cricket obviously suddenly seems very insignificant, but it is due to start imminently the third Test match in Adelaide.
We've been in a similar situation with terrorism around the England cricket scene before in India and places.
Do you think there will be any delay to the test?
Will they go ahead with it?
What's the thinking, do you think?
No, they'll go ahead on Wednesday.
It'll be a somber affair.
Without any question, there's obviously going to be remembrance of what's happened.
But, you know, I think it's important in life that we don't back down to terrorism.
I think you've got to carry on.
You've got to show your support for everyone that's been affected.
That will happen at the Adelaide Oval.
There'll be 60-odd thousand.
There'll be 30-odd thousand Brits.
And, you know, you don't back down.
You never back down to these cowards that are going about their business and thinking that they're going to change the world for the better for killing innocent people.
So there'll be a, you know, I say an airy kind of atmosphere, I'm sure, at the Adelaide Oval to start with, but life has to go on.
You know, the cricket will go on.
You know, the cricket hasn't been going great for England.
So from an England perspective, we'd like them to play a bit better.
But it bears into kind of consequence of what cricket means when you see what happened in Bondi.
But absolutely, that first ball will be bowled at 10am on Wednesday morning in Adelaide.
Defying Cowards at Adelaide Oval00:04:12
What reaction have you had from Australians, Michael, since obviously you revealed that you'd been there?
I know it's early days there now, but I'd imagine you've had a lot of message exchanges with probably quite high-profile Australians.
What has been the general reaction?
They're angry.
I think they felt and feel that this wouldn't happen in their country.
You know, there's so many of my team at Fox Sports that are living around Sydney, around Bondi, and they were on messaging services last night.
They just can't believe what's happened.
And they're in shock, I think, in terms of it happening so close on their doorstep.
And I think that's the reaction to many.
I keep saying Australia is the beach, it's the sunshine, it's people being jovial.
Everyone's happy here because they've got the weather, they've got pretty much everything that you require, and it's a safe place.
And to think that this has happened at this iconic venue where we all just go and hang out and chill.
I don't see many people in Bondi peers that aren't smiling.
And there's a reason it's because it's such a special place.
And the smiles they'll come back.
They'll certainly come back, but it might take a while for the real smiles to be coming back and that joy because what's happened at Bondi Beach is devastating.
How are your family?
Are they all okay sort of mentally with what they've been through?
Because obviously once you realize how close you were and how horrific it was, I'd imagine quite traumatic.
Yeah, yeah, I mean, it's early days, and you know, I've got young daughters, and they'll be fine.
They'll get through it.
But, you know, you're never quite sure how anyone is going to be able to cope with something like this, particularly when you're so close.
But, you know, we'll talk through with them.
You know, it's just making sure that they understand that two people in the world and particularly two people in Sydney can't affect the whole nation.
You know, and that's what's trying to happen here.
That's what they want us all to kind of react with.
They want us to stop our lives.
They want us to be scared.
We have to fight on.
You have to accept that these awful attacks have been happening.
Two people, as I said, that are utter cowards, utter cowards to deliver what they've delivered on a Sunday evening in Sydney.
It shouldn't happen, but it's happened.
And we all must fight on and make sure that we support all those people that have been horribly affected by this.
And of course, it's worth noting, I think, that the reporting at the moment suggests that you've got two Islamist attackers, gunmen committing mass murder of Jewish people because of their faith on a day of their festival.
But you also had the hero who disarmed one of them.
It turns out it appears he is a Muslim himself and was as repulsed by what was happening as everybody else.
And that, I think, is an extraordinary part of this story.
Yeah, absolutely.
You know, it's always hard when you start talking about religion because I think you always, in this kind of incident, put everyone in the same basket.
We're talking about two utter scumbags, Piers.
You know, and not everyone's like that as the hero who confronted one of the terrorists has proven to be.
The world is a great place, Piers.
There's the number of people around the world from all religions that are absolutely incredible.
And that'll carry on, but we shouldn't react just to the small minority who are utter scumbags.
And that's exactly what these two are.
Yeah.
Michael Vaughan, I really appreciate it.
It's very early over there in Sydney, and you're still getting over this.
Thank you very much indeed for joining me on Uncensor.