Video shows couple trying to stop Bondi Beach gunmen moments before the attack. They became the first victims.
Newly revealed video footage shows a couple in their 60s trying to stop the deadly terror attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Australia's Bondi Beach just before it unfolded.
A vehicle's dashcam captured the images just moments before the carnage was unleashed. In the footage, local resident Boris Gurman, 69, can be seen grabbing a rifle from one of the two gunmen as they unloaded weapons from their car. An ISIS flag can be seen draped across the car's windshield in the video.
Gurman was fatally shot on the sidewalk after confronting the suspect. Seconds later, his wife Sofia, 61, was also shot and killed.
"While nothing can lessen the pain of losing Boris and Sofia, we feel an overwhelming sense of pride in their bravery and selflessness," their family said in a statement, CBS News partner BBC News reported.
"This encapsulates who Boris and Sofia were — people who instinctively and selflessly tried to help others," the family said.
The Jewish couple were the first victims in the shooting targeting the Jewish community, which killed at least 15 people and wounded many others.
The Gurmans were married for 34 years. Boris Gurman was a retired mechanic known for his generosity, and Sofia Gurman worked for the Australian postal service and was loved by her colleagues, the family said.
"Bondi locals, together they lived honest, hardworking lives and treated everyone they met with kindness, warmth and respect," the family's statement said. "Boris and Sofia were devoted to their family and to each other. They were the heart of our family, and their absence has left an immeasurable void."
Officials have said the attack could have been even deadlier had not it been for acts of heroism by those who risked their lives to stop it.
Sheina Gutnick said her father Reuven Morrison was one of those heroes. He was seen on video throwing bricks at the gunmen before he was killed in the attack.
"He went down fighting, protecting the people he loved the most," Gutnick said.
She said the rise of antisemitism was also to blame for the attack.
"I feel betrayed by the government," she said. "I feel the signs were coming for a long, long time."
Ahmed al Ahmed, a local fruit shop owner who moved to Australia from Syria, was also seen on video tackling one of the gunmen from behind and wrestling away the rifle aimed at the crowd.
Al Ahmed was still recovering in a Sydney hospital on Tuesday from gunshot wounds when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese came to visit.
The prime minister said al Ahmed, 42, was scheduled to have another surgery Wednesday for the wounds to his left shoulder and upper body, and he called it a great honor to meet him.
"He is a true Australian hero," Albanese told reporters after spending about half an hour with al Ahmed and his parents, who only recently joined their son in Australia, at the hospital.
"We are a brave country. Ahmed al Ahmed represents the best of our country. We will not allow this country to be divided. That is what the terrorists seek," Albanese said. "We will unite. We will embrace each other, and we'll get through this."



