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‘It’s safe now’: Chinese student talks about Bondi lifeguards’ rescue as gunshots rang out
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‘It’s safe now’: Chinese student talks about Bondi lifeguards’ rescue as gunshots rang out

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Floating at sea, Chinese international student Levi Xu saw smoke rising from the gun held by one of the alleged gunmen on Bondi Beach on Sunday evening.
Desperate and afraid, he thought it would be safer to wait in the water than on land.
But his energy dropped dangerously.
He motioned for his friend to swim back to shore, but discovered he was too exhausted to push through the water.
As gunshots continued to ring out, Xu felt like he was about to drown.

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

“When he reached me, he told me, ‘It’s safe now,’” Xu told SBS Chinese.

With the young man’s help, Xu, a 31-year-old recent graduate from Melbourne, and his friend climbed onto the rescue board and were both taken to the beach.

‘I want to thank him’

Xu, who has been in Australia for two years, chose to swim in a crowded area where more than a dozen people were also swimming.
When the first shots were fired by alleged gunmen Naveed and Sajid Akram, Xu’s first instinct was to stay in the water, thinking the sand was more unpredictable.

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

“I kept hearing the gun sounds coming from one place, and the shooter was right in front of me.”
After being rescued, Xu and his friend were taken to a nearby shelter. But all he could think about was that he hadn’t asked the young lifeguard’s name.
“He saved my life. I wanted to thank him even though I didn’t know his name,” said Xu.

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

The next day, Xu returned to the scene. Despite the strong police presence, Xu said he still felt scared and unsafe.
“When I got back to the beach, I instinctively wanted to hide. I had to walk along the walls. I felt unsafe walking in the middle of the path,” he said.
Through other lifeguards at Bondi Beach, Xu found the name of his rescuer: Rory Davey.
Xu messaged Davey and they agreed to meet for dinner. Davey told Xu he was ‘just doing it’ [his] job” as he rushed to support Xu.
Xu said he was “deeply moved”.

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

“His calmness and professionalism reassured me that I could climb onto the rescue board myself.”
In a statement, Davey, who works as a lifeguard for Waverley Council, told SBS News that “any of our lifeguards would have done exactly the same thing”.

“There wouldn’t have even been any consideration as to whether they should stay in the buggy cover or go out and rescue the two swimmers,” he said.

‘Many people are very cordial’

Xu said Davey’s courage had inspired him to stand up for others in the future. “I really like Australia because I think the people are very brave and kind,” he said.
“A lot of people are very cordial. Once you talk to them, you 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 courage and justice, about being a Good Samaritan.”

Xu said he is still feeling the effects of the tragedy. He suffered from insomnia and had no appetite for the past five days.
“I feel like I haven’t left the beach since,” he said.
“I don’t know how long this situation will last, but I hope it will be over soon.”
This story was created in collaboration with SBS Chinese.

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