Tibor Weitzen: Body of man who died shielding friend in Bondi massacre was found by grandson

WARNING: Distressing

The body of a man who died trying to shield a friend from bullets amid the Bondi Beach terror attack was tragically found by his grandson.

Father and son Sajid and Naveed Akram allegedly killed 15 innocent people and injured at least 40 more at Chanukah By The Sea in Bondi on Sunday night

Marika Pogany, Tibor Weitzen, Dan Elkayam, Reuven Morrison, Peter Meagher, Alexander Kleytman, Rabbi Eli Schlanger and Rabbi Yaakov Levitan are among the 15 people killed in the massacre. Matilda Poltavchenko, 10, was also killed.

Mr Weitzen, a great-grandfather, died trying to shield a family friend, The Australian reported.

His body was found by his grandson, who was working as a first responder.

“I was one of the first responders, my family were there for the event and my wife called me so I ran down to the beach with my defibrillator and the shooting was still going,” Mendy Amzalak told The Australian.

“I started treating people and then I came across his body.”

Russian nationals among those killed

Russian nationals were among those gunned down in Sunday’s horror attack, the country’s foreign ministry has revealed.

The mass shooting was condemned as “barbaric” by spokeswoman Maria Zakharova in a statement posted online.

“As it has become known, unfortunately, among the victims of the terrorist attack there are also our compatriots permanently residing in Australia,” she said.

Russia “consistently” advocated for an “uncompromising fight against terrorism in all its forms”, Ms Zakharova said.

“We call upon the efforts of all the countries of the world to jointly resist this barbarism,” she said.

“We express our deepest sympathy and sincere condolences to the relatives and friends of the deceased, and we wish a speedy recovery to all victims of this terrible crime.”

Victims remembered

Ms Pogany, 82, was remembered as a “beautiful friend” in the wake of the tragedy.

Photographer and ex-cop Mr Meagher was killed while on assignment.

President Emmanuel Macron said his thoughts were with Mr Elkayam’s loved ones, saying they had “the fullest solidarity of the nation”.

Mr Schlanger, head of the Chabad mission in Bondi, was remembered as an “incredible guy” by his cousin online.

The rabbi’s friend Eliezer Tewel expressed his sorrow at Mr Schalnger’s death, noting he was “just doing his job” when he was killed.

“And that’s where the gut punch lands: He was killed while doing the most basic, kindest, most normal part of our lives. It wasn’t a battlefield. It was a Chanukah party,” Mr Tewel said.

Mr Kleytman, a Holocaust survivor and Ukrainian-Australian grandfather, died trying to protect his wife.

“I think he was shot because he raised himself up to protect me, in the back of the head,” his wife, Larisa, told the Daily Mail.

Mr Levitan was “deeply involved” in Chabad operations in Sydney, the organisation said in a statement online.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke earlier confirmed his department would be fast-tracking visas for relatives of the victims of the attack ahead of a national cabinet meeting.

More to come …