Chinese Student Shares Harrowing Bondi Rescue Amid Gunfire

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Floating on the sea, Chinese international student Levi Xu could see the smoke rising from the rifle held by one of the alleged gunmen on Bondi Beach on Sunday evening.

Desperate and scared, he thought it would be safer to wait in the water than on land.

But his energy was dropping dangerously.

He motioned his friend to swim back to the beach, only to find he was too exhausted to push through the water.

As gunshots continued to ring out, Xu felt he was about to drown.

Then he saw a young man with long blond hair swimming from the shore towards him, carrying a soft rescue board.

Xu, a 31-year-old recent graduate from Melbourne, shared a harrowing experience with SBS Chinese. “As he reached me, he told me: ‘It’s safe now’,” Xu recalled, referring to the young man who came to their aid.

With this courageous individual’s assistance, Xu and his friend managed to climb onto a rescue board and were safely brought back to the beach. The sound of gunfire echoed in the background, and the gunman was ominously close, right in Xu’s line of sight. “I kept hearing the gun firing sounds coming from one place, and the gunman was right in front of me,” Xu recounted.

After the ordeal, Xu reached out to Davey, the young man’s name, and they arranged to meet for dinner. During their meeting, Davey humbly stated that he was “just doing [his] job” when he bravely stepped in to help Xu and his friend.

Xu, who has been in Australia for two years, chose to swim in a crowded area, where over a dozen people were also swimming.

When the first shots were fired by the alleged gunmen Naveed and Sajid Akram, Xu’s first instinct was that it was to stay in the water, thinking the sand was more unpredictable.

But as the shooting continued, Xu realised it was a mass shooting. “My muscles became very tense, I was highly nervous,” he said.

Reflecting on the incident, Davey emphasized the instinctive nature of his actions. “There wouldn’t even have been a second thought about whether they stay in the cover of the buggy or go out and rescue the two swimmers,” he said, highlighting the urgency and selflessness of the rescue.

After being rescued, Xu and his friend were taken to a shelter nearby. But all he could think of was that he hadn’t asked for the name of the young lifeguard.

“He saved my life. I wanted to say thanks to him, even though I didn’t know his name,” Xu said.

“[Saying thanks to him] is important to me, I need to do it so that I can drop my mental burden and move on.”

The next day, Xu returned to the scene. Despite a strong police presence, Xu said he still felt scared and unsafe.

“When I was back to the beach, I instinctively wanted to hide. I had to walk alongside the walls. I felt unsafe walking in the middle of the path,” he said.

Through other lifeguards on Bondi Beach, Xu found the name of his rescuer: Rory Davey.

Xu sent a message to Davey, and they agreed to meet for dinner. Davey told Xu that he was “just doing [his] job” when he rushed to support Xu.

Xu said he was “deeply touched”.

“[Davey] is only 19 years old, but when he came to rescue me, he didn’t panic. He was very calm,” Xu said.

“His calmness and professionalism reassured me, so that I could climb on the rescue board myself.”

In a statement, Davey, who works as a lifeguard for Waverley Council, told SBS News that “any single one of our lifeguards would have done the exact same thing”.

“There wouldn’t even have been a second thought about whether they stay in the cover of the buggy or go out and rescue the two swimmers,” he said.

‘Many people are very warm-hearted’

Xu said Davey’s bravery had inspired him to stand up for others in the future. “I really like Australia, because I find people very brave and kind,” he said.

“Many people are very warm-hearted. Once you talk to them, you can feel their friendliness.

“During the attack, I saw many heroes. I don’t think this is a coincidence. There should be an unspoken understanding among people about bravery and justice, about being a good Samaritan.”

Xu said he’s still feeling the impacts of the tragedy. He experienced insomnia and had lost his appetite in the past five days.

“I feel that I haven’t left the beach since then,” he said.

“I don’t know how long this situation will last, but I hope it will be gone soon.”

This story was produced in collaboration with SBS Chinese.