Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan has described hearing gunshots during the terrorist attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach as “terrifying”.
Vaughan, who is in Australia working as a media pundit for the Ashes series, said he was locked in a restaurant “a few hundred yards from the attack” with his wife, two daughters, sister-in-law and a friend.
Australian police said a father and son were behind the shooting in which 15 people were killed, including a 10-year-old girl and a British-born rabbi, with 38 people still in hospital.
The older of the gunmen, a 50-year-old man, was shot by police and died at the scene while his son, a 24-year-old man, suffered critical injuries and was taken to hospital under police guard.
Wiring in The Daily Telegraph, Vaughan said: “Like most people, I have been at home watching terrorist attacks unfold in London, or Manchester, near where I live.
“That all feels very close to home, and is scary. But to be so close that you can hear it happening is terrifying.”
The 51-year-old said he was on the phone outside when he heard sirens on the beach and thought it was a shark attack or a fight until he was told to get inside by a bouncer and the restaurant locked its doors.
“I have never experienced anything like it. You know what’s happening around you, but you don’t want to believe it’s happening,” he said.
“There were people eating but it was a very sombre atmosphere.”
In an interview with Piers Morgan Uncensored, he described the attack as an “awful, tragic event” and described the people behind it as “utter scumbags”.
He hailed Ahmed al Ahmed, who tackled and disarmed one of the attackers, as a hero.
“How many lives has he saved?” he asked. “What would have happened if he hadn’t done what he had done?”
The Ashes continues on Wednesday with the start of the third Test in Adelaide, which Vaughan said would be “a sombre affair”.
“The cricket will go on,” he said. “You don’t back down to these cowards who think they are going to change the world for the better by killing innocent people.
“Australia will fight back… but it’s going to take a bit of time.
Vaughan earlier posted on X about his experience after returning home to the nearby suburb of Coogee.
“Being locked in a restaurant in Bondi was scary.. Now home safe,” Vaughan said.
“But thanks so much to the emergency services and the guy who confronted the terrorist .. thoughts with all who have been affected .. xxx.”
England are due to visit Sydney at the start of January for the fifth Ashes Test and issued a statement of support following the attack.
“Everyone in the England Cricket team is deeply saddened by the horrific events at Bondi Beach yesterday evening,” it read.
“Our thoughts are with the victims, their families and friends at this deeply distressing time. We stand alongside the people of Sydney, the Jewish community and our heartfelt condolences go to all those affected.”
Speaking at a press conference at Adelaide Oval, vice-captain Harry Brook added: “It was a horrendous day for everybody involved on Bondi Beach. We are really thinking about them and the horrific incidents that happened.
“We support them all the way through and we’re just extremely sorry for what happened.”
