"Terrifying": England Cricket Star On Being "So Close" To Sydney Beach Attack

Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan found himself close to the terror attack site in Bondi, Sydney, on Sunday. The attack targeted a Jewish celebration on Bondi Beach and left 15 people, including a 10-year-old girl, dead.

Vaughan, who is in Australia covering the Ashes, said in an opinion piece that he and his family were only “a few hundred metres from the attack” and were forced into lockdown inside Totti's restaurant as events unfolded nearby. Describing the experience as “scary,” Vaughan said, “To be so close that you can hear it happening is terrifying.”

Vaughan said it was “a horrific attack” that would “devastate families forever.” He added that he was staying in the neighbouring suburb of Coogee with his family.

Vaughan reflected on how terrorist attacks often feel distant when seen on television, even when they occur in familiar places. “That all feels very close to home and is scary. But to be so close that you can hear it happening is terrifying.”

Vaughan said initially he mistook the noise of emergency sirens for something less serious. “Usually, when you hear that sound on the beach, it's sharks or a couple of well-oiled blokes brawling,” he wrote. He soon realised the situation was far more serious.

He described being outside a nearby pub when a bouncer urgently intervened. “The bouncer walked over with his hands in a gun sign and told me to get inside,” he said. Shortly after, the restaurant was locked down, and no one was allowed to leave until authorities deemed it safe.

Vaughan said they remained inside for nearly two hours. “You know what's happening around you, but you don't want to believe it's happening,” he wrote, describing a “very sombre atmosphere.”

Vaughan was with his wife, her sister, his two daughters and one of their friends. He said he tried to remain calm for the sake of the younger members of the group.

“It's the day after, when you think that we could have been sat on that beach. We had been watching my son play cricket, and it overran. We could easily have gone down to the beach rather than straight to the pub and restaurant,” he said, adding, “You can only imagine what could have happened.”

Vaughan praised the actions of a civilian who intervened during the incident, calling him “a hero,” and commended the calm response of the police and those present. He also described the targeting of Jewish people celebrating Hanukkah as “hideous.”

“To target Bondi is also horrible,” Vaughan wrote, calling the beach as “the haven of chill.” Despite the shock, Vaughan stressed that fear would not define the community, saying that life must go on. “You just have to instil defiance,” Vaughan wrote, adding that “the destructive mindset of a few bad apples cannot stop the rest of us enjoying life.”

Reflecting on the mood this morning, Vaughan said Coogee felt quieter and more subdued, with many people still shaken.