The Frenchman’s lawyer confirmed that he would be granted permanent residency in Australia after his heroic act
DAVID GRAY/AFP via Getty
Paramedics respond to a stabbing attack at the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping center in Sydney, Australia, on April 13.
A Frenchman who tried to stop a killer from hurting more people at a Sydney shopping center has been granted Australian citizenship, Sky News reports. Independent and the Associated Press.
Damien Guerot, now deemed ‘Bollard Man’ for using a bollard, tried to stop Joel Cauchi from hurting more people during the attack on the Westfield Shopping Center in Sydney’s Bondi Junction on Saturday, April 13.
During the attack, 40-year-old Cauchi fatally stabbed six people and injured 12 others, including a nine-month-old baby.
After Guerot and his friend, Silas Despreaux, heard yelling about an attacker, the France native swung a bollard, a sturdy pole, at the attacker and blocked the top of the escalator for Cauchi.
“We just saw him coming… we thought, ‘We have to try to stop him,'” Guerot told Australian TV channel Seven News, Sky News reported. ‘We tried to throw away the bollard. We really wanted to stop him.”
The two then led Police Inspector Amy Scott to the attacker, and Cauchi lunged at her with the knife. Scott then shot him. Cauchi was treated by paramedics but could not be revived and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Related: 4 people stabbed during Sydney church service, days after mall attack that killed 6 people
Dion Georgopoulos/The Sydney Morning Herald via Getty
Bondi Junction Westfield tribute.
After the attack, Guerot told Australian news networks that he was in the country on a work visa, which was set to expire in the coming months.
When his lawyer, Belinda Robinson, heard that Geurot’s visa was about to expire, he started a petition calling for him to be granted citizenship, according to Sky News.
Shortly after the petition, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Guerot “is welcome here [in Australia]you are welcome to stay as long as you like,” reports Sky News.
“This is someone we would be happy to welcome as an Australian citizen, although that would of course be a loss for France,” Albanese added.
Related: Police identify man who killed six people and injured others during mall attack in Australia
“I support the Prime Minister’s generous offer [of citizenship]”, opposition leader Peter Dutton told reporters, according to the Associated Press. “We would like to have people with that character in our country.”
Robinson confirmed with SBS News that Geurot would be granted permanent residency and is now awaiting official documentation.
“He got a call from immigration and the Prime Minister said he can’t give him citizenship, but we will give him permanent residency,” Robinson told SBS News. “We’re just waiting for an answer when that becomes official.”
Lisa Maree Williams/Getty
NSW Police and ambulance vehicles outside Westfield Bondi Junction on April 13.
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French President Emmanuel Macron praised the two French men in a post X (formerly known as Twitter) on Tuesday, April 16.
“Condolences to the Australians affected by an attack at a Sydney shopping center on Saturday. Two of our compatriots behaved like real heroes. Very great pride and recognition,” read Macron’s post.
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