An asylum seeker intervened in the Bondi Beach terror attack but was shot at by police and attacked by members of the public.
New video footage from the scene shows the man climbing the stairs to the bridge where the two gunmen lay injured after being shot by police marksmen.
The member of the public is seen kicking a weapon away from the terrorists – but police continue firing at the bridge, causing the man to duck for cover.
As police close in on the injured gunmen, the refugee is then challenged by members of the public, who mistake him for a terrorist.
One must understand that if they’re going to take on a shooting perp that they are putting their life at risk, not just from the perpetrator but from the cops that will be responding or any witnesses will be there.
It is built into the process. You will risk your life. You may get shot for being a good Samaritan. By the police.
It happens.
With a much, much lower likelihood of it happening if the guy was white, I bet.
He got shot because he “looked” like a terrorist in the police/public’s eyes, despite being the one fighting the terrorists.
In America the rate is pretty distributed. But it’s a very small sample size because most people don’t get involved.
The number one thing that makes you look like a terrorist in a situation like this is holding a gun.
Anyone holding a gun during an active shooting is automatically a suspect in the few seconds it occurs… I doubt it has anything to do with skin color.
So why did the public mob the guy then? They saw him literally fighting the gunman and still assumed he’s one of them? If it was a pale skinned blond guy they 100% would have believed him when he said he’s trying to help, but because he’s Middle Eastern they refused to see past the “terrorist” stereotype.
And if they didn’t see him fighting the terrorist, that’s worse. They attacked a random Middle Eastern guy assuming all of them are terrorists. Why didn’t they go after any of the white people on the beach in the same way?
Maybe because he’s standing on top of the shooter, kicking the gun with his hands up?? How are people supposed to know he’s not part of it.
How else are people supposed to fight terrorists? Say please and thank you?
Because someone intent on helping them shoot people definitely does that.
Oh so they could clearly see he wasn’t holding a weapon.
Do you think people have drone vision or something? This is happening in the midst of chaos. Just because you can see it in the video doesn’t mean people around there can see what is happening. There is a wall around him. NOBODY can see him kicking the gun.
I see your point and accept it. However, I don’t think that takes away from the broader fact that this is significantly less likely to happen to white people compared to Middle Eastern.
And You have to understand that Islamophobia is a serious problem.
It is. But it’s not what I’m talking about. Multiple people in the US who were “good guy with a gun” have been killed by cops. Off the top of my head I can think of a black and a white guy. The cops don’t care. If you have a gun out during an active shooter event and you are not clearly visible as law enforcement you will be shot. Race or religion will not be a factor.
Now if you get mobbed by civilians could very much depend on one’s ethnic or religious presentation. But in America we don’t tend to do the mobbing thing because despite all our brave words even the cops will sit outside for 45 minutes to make sure it’s safe to go in.