By The French man dubbed “bollard man” who “bravely” confronted Joel Cauchi during a stabbing rampage at Bondi Junction will be granted permanent residency by the federal government, according to his lawyer.
A video widely circulated on social media showed Damien Guerot holding a shopping centre bollard up to try and stop the knife-wielding Cauchi in his tracks on Saturday afternoon.
He then chased behind NSW Police Inspector Amy Scott, who shot the attacker dead, holding a chair as a potential weapon.
During an interview, Mr Guerot told Channel Seven he is on a work visa which is due to expire in a couple of months.
His lawyer, Belinda Robinson, said he would be granted permanent residency and was only waiting for official documentation, which was expected to come through as soon as Tuesday evening.
It comes just two days after Ms Robinson started an online petition calling for Mr Guerot to be granted Australia citizenship, describing his actions as “a true act of Australianism” that saved lives.
“[He] committed an act of true heroism by selfless putting his own life in the firing line of danger without a second thought by taking on a mass murderer,” she said.
PM says Mr Guerot can stay in Australia
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said earlier in the day that Mr Guerot was welcome to stay in Australia.
“I say this to Damien Guerot, who is dealing with his visa applications, that you are welcome here,” Anthony Albanese said.
“You are welcome to stay for as long as you like.”
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Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said he supports the prime minister’s “generous offer”.
“He embodies the Anzac spirit, and we would want people of that character in our country,” Mr Dutton said.
“It says a lot about the nature of humanity at a time when we are facing difficult issues that someone who’s not a citizen of this country stood bravely at the top of those escalators and stopped this perpetrator from getting onto another floor and potentially inflicting further carnage,” Mr Albanese said.
In a statement, Minister for Immigration Andrew Giles said Mr Guerot’s “extraordinary bravery is an example of the character we all want to see in our society” and that his department was looking into “visa options for him”.
“We thank Mr Guerot as well as other members of the public, our heroic police officers and first responders who have helped protect others from danger.”
During the attack, six people were murdered and a dozen more were badly injured.
Six patients remain in hospital, including a nine-month-old girl.
Thousands of people ran for their lives or hid in shops and fire exits.
Mr Guerot recalls stabbing attack
Mr Guerot, a construction worker who was on his way to the gym, ran towards the danger.
In vision of the incident he can be seen holding the bollard to protect himself from Cauchi and trying to throw it at him to bring an end to the attack.
Riess Tudela watched it happen from above.
“I saw an extremely brave gentleman trying to fend this man off the escalators, and he’s just an absolute hero,” Mr Tudela told 7.30.
Mr Guerot told Channel Seven he and his friend Silas Despreaux were acting on adrenaline.
“I don’t know, we just [thought] we needed [to do] something to catch him,” Mr Guerot said.
“You cannot think in that moment, it’s [just] adrenaline.”
He recalled “[the attacker’s] eyes were like empty eyes … he wasn’t there”.
Mr Guerot said he could not be held up for long and praised the actions of Inspector Scott who ran after the attacker and told him to drop the knife.
When he lunged at her she fired three shots, killing him.
Mr Albanese thanked Mr Guerot for his “extraordinary bravery”.
He went as far as saying he is the type of person he would welcome as an Australian citizen but admitted “that would of course be a loss for France”.
“On Saturday we saw some of the best of human character at the same time we saw such devastating tragedy,” Mr Albanese said.
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