A Frenchman who tried to stop a deadly attack at a Sydney shopping center has been promised an Australian visa.
Damien Guerot has been called a hero after footage of him confronting cutler Joël Cauchi with a terminal during Saturday’s attack went viral.
Joel Cauchi killed six people and injured 12 others before being shot dead by a police officer.
The Bondi attack, which police said appeared to target women, horrified the nation.
Amid the outpouring of grief across the country this week, efforts were also made to secure Mr Geurot – whose visa would expire in a month – the right to remain in the country.
Prime Minister Antoine Albanais said he would ensure that Mr. Guerot – who some call “Bollard Man” – would have no problem renewing his visa.
“I say this to Damian…you can stay as long as you want,” he said at a news conference Tuesday.
“He is someone we would be happy to become an Australian citizen, although it would of course be a loss for France. We thank him for his extraordinary courage.”
The scene of Mr. Guerot in a white T-shirt confronting Cauchi in an escalator was broadcast around the world. The video shows him wielding a plastic pole to push it away.
Mr. Guerot said he and a friend, Silas Despreaux, both construction workers, had just jumped into action without thinking, acting on pure adrenaline.
“We just saw it coming… we thought, ‘We have to try and stop it,'” Mr. Guerot said in an interview with Australian television station Channel Seven on Sunday.
Cauchi then turned and fled down the escalator, with the two men in pursuit.
“We may have tried to throw the terminal at him, but we couldn’t (catch him),” Mr. Guerot said.
Grabbing a chair, he ran after Cauchi to the next level. At that time, a police officer was also in pursuit of Cauchi and the men directed Detective Amy Scott to her target. As he lunged at her with the knife, she shot him dead.
Police are currently investigating how and why Cauchi, originally from the state of Queensland, committed such violence.
He had been living on the move for several years and was first diagnosed with mental illness at 17, Queensland Police said.
New South Wales police said on Monday it appeared “obvious” he targeted women, who account for five of the six people killed.
The attack – in one of the country’s largest and most popular shopping malls – shocked Australia, where mass killings are rare.
Flags across the country were lowered, the sails of the Opera House lit up in tribute to the victims and crowds of mourners gathered at Bondi Junction to lay flowers, teddy bears and cards.
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