An unlocked pickup truck and a split-second decision saved the lives of Benjamin and Reizel Simons, an elderly Jewish couple who were fleeing gunfire during the Hanukkah party massacre at Bondi Beach in Sydney, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
The couple told the Herald that they had just left the party when gunshots rang out. While younger people hid under parked cars, the couple said that due to their age they were not able to do so. Instead, they moved from vehicle to vehicle until they spotted a pickup truck with its side door open. They climbed inside, hid, and prayed.
“At one point, I looked up, and the shooter was exactly in line with the truck,” said Benjamin Simons. “Getting into the truck saved my life and my wife’s life.”
The truck belonged to Josh Pulford, who had been nearby and had fled moments earlier when the shooting began. Pulford said he saw the attackers and ran toward the surf club to escape.
When he returned later, Pulford found the Simons couple hiding in his truck. He urged them to stay there while police secured the area and later helped escort them away from the scene. Another passerby later drove the couple home.
The Simons said they only realized how close they had been to the gunfire after watching footage of the attack. According to them, every other nearby vehicle was locked. “That open door felt like our Hanukkah miracle,” Benjamin Simons said.
The Bondi Beach attack, which took place during a Hanukkah party, left fifteen people dead and shocked the Jewish community in Australia and around the world.