Asylum seeker disarms Bondi Beach shooter before being shot by police as couple confront gunman father

According to his lawyer, Alison Battisson, the unnamed man "kicked away the gun the shooter was still holding".

Police however continued to fire shots at the bridge, prompting the man to duck for cover as he can be heard shouting "don't shoot".

Members of the public then set upon the hero, appearing to mistake him for one of the attackers.

The man has been identified by his lawyer as a Middle Eastern refugee, who has lived in Australia for about 10 years but is on a temporary visa without a guaranteed path to permanent residency, the Daily Mail reports.

He is understood to have an Australian wife and children.

Human rights lawyer Ms Battisson said: This hero is a refugee without a permanent visa. Our client's name isn’t publicly available so we are using AB.

"AB ran towards the shooting when it started and gradually worked his way to the bridge where the shooting was taking place.

"He knew the shooter on the bridge would need to reload and he waited for this opportunity.

"When the shooter was hit, this hero ran up the bridge and kicked away the gun the shooter was still holding.

"Other bystanders misunderstood his intent and kicked him, but AB didn’t fight back and a detective helped make it clear that AB is a civilian who was brave enough to step in and help."

In another act of heroism, dashcam footage captured at the scene of the attack shows a couple also attempting to disarm one of the alleged gunmen.

The pair have been identified by local media as Boris and Sofia Gurman as two of the victims of the shooting.

The video shows Mr Gurman tackling who is believed to be suspect Sajid Akram to the ground.

A total of 15 people died in the shooting, including a 10-year-old girl and London-born rabbi Eli Schlanger, while dozens were taken to hospital injured.

The alleged attackers have been named as father and son Sajid and Naveed Akram.

Sajid Akram, 50, was shot by police and died at the scene, but 24-year-old Naveed woke from a coma today and is expected to survive his injuries and face criminal charges, police said.

At a press conference today, authorities gave an update on the parallel critical incident and counter-terror investigations into the attack.

“Early indications point to a terrorist attack inspired by Islamic State,” federal police commissioner Krissy Barrett said.

“These are the alleged actions of those who have aligned themselves with a terrorist organisation.”

New South Wales (NSW) state police commissioner, Mal Lanyon, confirmed that “a vehicle registered to the younger male contained IEDs (intermittent explosive devices) and two homemade IS flags”.

Mr Lanyon also said police were investigating a trip both men took to the Philippines last month.

“The reasons why they went and the purpose of that trip and where they went when they were there, are under investigation,” he said.

Mr Lanyon also said a gun licence held by Sajid Akram was issued in 2023 – not 2015 as police had originally stated.

Addressing the conference, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called Isis a “radical perversion of Islam”.

He continued: “Isis was created by an evil ideology that has been called out not just by the Australian government but the global community.

“These antisemitic terrorist attacks will not be successful with their objective, which is to divide us as a nation.

“We will continue to come together as a nation and to embrace each other.”