Heroic grandad Reuven Morrison ‘went down fighting’: Victim’s daughter blames government for ‘incredible’ father’s death

"From my sources and understanding, he had jumped up the second the shooting started. He managed to throw bricks at the terrorist," she said, referencing an attempt captured on camera to stop the attack.

Gutnick’s father was seen trying to stop one of the terrorists after another man – shopkeeper Ahmed al Ahmed who has been widely hailed for his heroism and survived despite sustaining several gunshot wounds – wrestled a gun away from him, she said.

"I believe after Ahmed managed to get the gun off the terrorist, my father had then gone to try and unjam the gun, to try and attempt shooting. He was screaming at the terrorist," she said.

"My dear father, Reuven Morrison was shot dead for being Jewish at a Chanukah event on Bondi Beach while protecting lives, while jumping up, putting his own life at risk to save his fellow Jewish community members."

Referencing the Australian government, she added: “They have had the warning signs for so long. The Jewish community has been begging and begging and begging and we have fallen on deaf ears.”

Morrison, who emigrated from the former Soviet Union to Australia in the 1970s, divided his time between Sydney and Melbourne, and was a “successful businessman whose main goal was to give away his earnings to charities dear to his heart,” according to Chabad.

Speaking to Australian broadcaster ABC in 2024, the grandfather described how he had experienced persecution as a Jewish person in the Soviet Union and had expected to live in “safety” in Australia.

“We came here with the view that Australia is the safest country in the world and the Jews would not be faced with such antisemitism in the future, where we can bring up our kids in a safe environment,” he said.