A security guard injured in the Westfield Bondi Junction rampage that killed his colleague can’t sleep and has “a lot” of nightmares from the harrowing ordeal as he reveals his new colleague’s last words.
Security guard Muhammad Taha was among a dozen injured when he was stabbed in the stomach by Joel Cauchi while attacking innocent bystanders in a frenzied attack on April 13.
Five women and security guard Faraz Tahir were stabbed to death in the attack which shocked Australia. Mr. Tahir was killed on his first day on the job.
Mr Taha briefly left hospital on Friday to attend Mr Tahir’s funeral at Marsden Park in Sydney’s west.
Unable to walk and still wearing a hospital gown and bracelet, Mr Taha bravely revealed he was haunted by nightmares and had difficulty sleeping after what he saw.
Westfield security guard Muhammad Taha left his hospital bed on Friday to attend the funeral of his colleague Faraz Tahir.
Westfield security guard Faraz Tahir (pictured) was killed on his first day on the job
“What happened there, I can’t forget,” he told reporters.
“It’s unimaginable and yet, if I think about it, it’s very painful.
“The trauma is horrible.
“Even when I try to sleep, I have everything going on in my head and it’s very painful.”
Mr Taha also met and spoke with the heartbroken family of his colleague who came from Pakistan for the funeral.
He and Mr. Tahir had shared stories about their families in their homeland of Pakistan moments before the chaos.
“I just spoke to his family about what he was doing with me and what were his last words and how he was feeling, sharing his experience and his work because it was his first day,” Mr Taha said .
“They wanted to know what his last words were because he was with me.”
The two men were walking through Westfield when they heard people shouting and pointing fingers at the attacker.
“His last words were, ‘Let’s see what happens,’ and we rushed to that area,” Mr. Taha recalled.
It also detailed how the two men confronted Cauchi, 40, moments before rushing to the aid of his stabbed colleague.
Security guard Muhammad Taha still has nightmares from the horrific ordeal
“We didn’t know if there was one or more people, we were trying to save people by evacuating them and telling them to go to a safe place,” Mr Taha said.
“We rushed towards that area of the mall and he (Mr Tahir) was two or three steps away from me and the crowd at that point.
“The attacker rushed towards him and suddenly stabbed him.
“All of a sudden he jumped towards me.
“I tried to stop him, while confronting him, but somehow he managed to stab me as well.”
Mr Taha was so focused on helping his injured colleague that he did not initially realize he had also been stabbed.
“I tried to grab him and pushed him towards the chairs and sofas in the cafe and managed to lay him down,” he said.
He did not know that Mr. Tahir had died until four days later.
Security guard Muhammad Taha (right) speaks with his colleague’s older brother, Muzafar Ahmad Tahir (seated left)
Mourners packed the Baitul Huda Mosque in Marsden Park on Friday to bid farewell to Faraz Tahir
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and New South Wales Premier Chris Minns were among the mourners at Mr Tahir’s funeral on Friday afternoon.
“We grieve with you,” Mr Albanese told Mr Tahir’s family at the service.
“We mourn everything that has been taken from us. He died as a national hero.
Family and friends began heading to the Baitul Huda Mosque in Marsden Park shortly before noon to honor Mr Tahir.
After seeing Mr Tahir’s body, his elder brother Mudasar Bashir said he was bidding farewell to his “joyful” brother after about six years of separation.
“When I saw him, I just said, ‘It’s been six years and now I’m meeting you.’ Finally, and for the last time,” Mr Bashir told mourners.
Mr Bashir, joined by his two other brothers, said he shared a “moving and painful” final conversation with his brother.
“He was going through very difficult times, but every time we talked to him he said, ‘I’m fine.’ I’m fine,” he said.
“He said, ‘I’m glad it’s a good country. I will have a good life here, because this country is free.
“I have freedom here. I can say that I am an Ahmadiyya Muslim and that I can go to the mosque.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told mourners on Friday that Faraz Tahir died a national hero.
Family and friends bid farewell to Westfield security guard Faraz Tahir at the Baitul Huda Mosque in Marsden Park on Friday.
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