Former NRL presenter Tiffany Salmond has revealed she still suffers panic attacks and constant fear months on from the deadly Bondi mass shooting in December.
On December 14 a mass shooting occurred at a Chanukah festival event at Bondi Beach in Sydney, where two armed men opened fire on people gathered for the celebration.
Fifteen people were killed and around 40 others were injured during the attack, which unfolded rapidly along the beachfront.
Police responded to the scene, fatally shooting one of the alleged gunmen, while the second suspect was wounded and taken into custody.
Authorities later confirmed the pair were related, and the surviving suspect was charged with multiple offences including murder, attempted murder and committing a terrorist act.
The incident was declared a terrorist attack, prompting a large-scale investigation and national condemnation, with increased security measures and public vigils held in the aftermath.
Former NRL television presenter Tiffany Salmond was caught up in the chaos of the Bondi mass shooting in December that saw 15 people killed and multiple more injured
Salmond was metres from the bridge where the gunmen opened fire and was forced to run for her life
Former Fox Sports NRL reporter Tiffany Salmond was leaving Bondi Beach on Sunday when the shooting began, finding herself just metres from the two alleged gunmen on a bridge near the northern end of the beach.
She said she had just said goodbye to an associate when she heard what she first thought was a car backfiring, before the repeated cracks of gunfire sent thousands of beachgoers fleeing in panic.
Salmond dodged traffic and ran straight into Bondi Police Station, where about 50 people were ushered into a back office by a lone policewoman and locked inside for around 20 minutes until it was declared safe to leave.
Now, months later, she has revealed the terror she still feels on an ongoing basis.
‘I’m so tired of feeling scared all the time,’ Salmond said.
‘Cause every time it happens, your whole body just kind of freezes.
‘Like my heart, stomach drops. For a few seconds it kind of plunges me back into that same feeling on the day when I was running away.
‘And it’s horrible. It’s so horrible, feeling so scared all the time.’
Salmond has revealed she still fears constantly afraid and suffers panic attacks months on from the attack
It is the first time Salmond has openly spoken about the attacks since she was caught up in them in terrifying scenes in December.
‘And I haven’t really spoken about what happened there since,’ she said.
‘I don’t want to make it about me, it’s not about me. But you know there were a lot of people on the beach that day, like a lot of people.
‘I do wonder if they’re all experiencing the same thing.’
Salmond said even video snippets were enough to trigger her now.[
‘I actually can’t even watch videos of it,’ she said.
‘Anytime I hear those gunshots it just like, sends me into panic.
‘There’s an ad on TV at the moment, because there’s an interview at the moment with the Bondi hero [who disarmed one of the gunmen].
The Bondi police station where Salmond and around 50 other people sheltered during the shooting
‘Every time that ad plays in the middle of the shows I’m watching, and there’s a few seconds where they have a video from the day and you can hear the gunshots, every single time my eyes start to water.
‘It’s just like an automatic trigger.
‘It’s just so crazy how one moment can really rewire the way your brain works.’
Salmond said there were other moments and sounds that triggered the panic mode from that day.
‘I wasn’t just watching it on TV, I was there, when the shooting happened’ she said.
‘I was very close to the bridge, I ran from the gunshots and yeah, it’s horrible.
‘Even just a few minutes ago a car was driving past did like a really loud skid.
‘And my whole body just froze.
‘Or even a couple of weeks ago, I was in the supermarket and in the aisle I was in, the lights went out, just in that aisle.
‘I guess it’s just something about something being different, unexpected.
‘My stomach just dropped and it was honestly like I just immediately went into fight or flight panic mode for a good few seconds there.
‘My mind was like racing, thinking where do I go? Where do I run to? What do I do? Where am I going to run and hide?
‘And it’s just non-stop and I never used to be like this.’
Authorities are continuing investigations, with the surviving accused gunman appearing in court for the first time this week on 15 murder charges.
Police allege 55 people were shot during the attack, including 15 fatally, such as 10-year-old Matilda, Holocaust survivors and a retired police officer.
The accused gunman is next due in court on April 9.
