An Australian fashion designer was “convulsing with fear” as she hid under a van that was flanked by the two rifle-toting terrorists who opened fire on thousands of Jews celebrating Hanukkah at Bondi Beach.
Pip Edwards, 45, relived the 15 heart-pounding minutes she spent cowering in terror as alleged killers Naveed Akram, 24, and his 50-year-old father, Sajid, slaughtered 15 people and injured dozens more in Sunday’s antisemitic attack at the family-friendly Chanukah by the Sea event on Sydney’s world-famous beach.
“The gun man fired his first round of shots right behind my girlfriend and I as we had just passed the bridge where they were standing, heading in the direction of the Jewish event/celebration on the Bondi grass,” Edwards told her more than 205,000 followers in a lengthy Instagram post Monday.
“We immediately ducked between two parked vans as the shots continued to fire incessantly, and quite literally as close as two meters away. We had to immediately take refuge under a van and watched the gunman’s feet with his gun pace in front of the van right at our heads, using our van as his post.”
She said the feet of one alleged shooters were directly in front of the van while the other armed assailant lurked behind, with the pair circling the vehicle like sharks.
The father-son duo walked away from the van after a civilian screamed out to them, the horrified P.E. Nation fashion designer recalled, eventually unleashing a barrage of bullets at “everything and everyone.”
“I was convulsing with fear, trapped, thinking this was it for us, just monitoring the movement of their feet,” Edwards, a mother of one, said in her harrowing post, adding, “In that moment, all we could do was hold tight one each other, squeezing together so close, in hope.”
“The shots kept firing and we rolled from side to side under the van to hide behind the wheels, as the gunmen’s feet walked around us, trying not to be seen. We were under there for 15 minutes in complete panic, shock, almost frozen, couldn’t breathe because we didn’t want to be heard.”
When the “deafening gunshots finally stopped,” the couple’s friend broke through the police barriers to find them and freed them from beneath the bullet-riddled van.
Police said the Akrams’ car, which was found at the crime scene, contained improvised explosive devices and homemade ISIS flags. The pair also owned six guns between them, each of which was fully licensed.
Sajid was killed at the scene during a shootout with police, while his son — who was also shot — was charged Wednesday with 59 offenses, including committing a terrorist act and 15 counts of murder for each person killed in Australia’s deadliest mass shooting in early 30 years.
“I cannot comprehend nor compute it at all,” Edwards said of the hateful massacre.
“All I can say is that I am beyond grateful to have survived. I love my son beyond words, and I love my family and friends so much — love is all that matters. From the carnage that I heard and saw firsthand, my heart bleeds for us all.”
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