{"id":428496,"date":"2026-01-21T21:08:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T21:08:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/428496\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T21:08:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T21:08:11","slug":"bondi-lifeguard-pictured-running-barefoot-in-viral-photo-recalls-night-of-terror-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/428496\/","title":{"rendered":"Bondi lifeguard pictured running barefoot in viral photo recalls night of terror attack"},"content":{"rendered":"

Much of Jackson Doolan’s memory from December 14 is a blur, but there is one moment that remains crystal clear.<\/p>\n

The Bondi lifeguard was one of the first people on the scene after two gunmen began to shoot at the Chanukah by the Sea Jewish celebration.<\/p>\n

In his first television interview since the tragedy, Mr Doolan spoke with the ABC about the shock and chaos that unfolded.<\/p>\n

Amidst the confusion, he remembers treating 14-year-old Chaya, who had been shot in the leg.<\/p>\n

“She was just in a lot of pain \u2026 and I think just in a lot of shock,” Mr Doolan recalled.<\/p>\n

“That probably sticks with me the most, just the fear in a lot of the victims’ eyes, but especially hers because I noted how young she was.”\"Mr<\/p>\n

Mr Doolan was pictured running barefoot to the scene of the terror attack, which went viral. (Supplied: Alexandra Ching)<\/p>\n

“Jacko”, as he is known to colleagues, said he made sure he spent a lot of time with her.<\/p>\n

If you or anyone you know needs help:Lifeline<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0131 114Kids Helpline<\/a> on 1800 551 800Witness to War hotline<\/a> on 1800 845 198Beyond Blue<\/a> on 1300 224 636Headspace<\/a> on 1800 650 890SANE <\/a>on 1800 187 263Call Triple-0 if you need immediate care<\/p>\n

As he applied pressure to her wound, he tried to comfort her as best he could.<\/p>\n

“I was just saying, ‘you’re going to get through this, you’re going to get through this, we’ll all get through it’,” Mr Doolan said.<\/p>\n

“Luckily for her, you know, she did and so [I’m] thankful.”<\/p>\n

Chaya, whom Mr Doolan has since reconnected with, was just one of the injured he helped that night.<\/p>\n

‘Special bond for the rest of our lives’<\/p>\n

As Australia marks a National Day of Mourning for the victims of the terrorist attack, he is also trying to process the horror he witnessed.<\/p>\n

“It was a lot \u2026 some really horrific injuries and stuff that, you know, people should never probably be exposed to,” he said.<\/p>\n

The power of one small mitzvah as Jewish community heals after Bondi<\/a><\/p>\n

Amid the National Day of Mourning for the victims of the Bondi Beach terrorist attack, Rabbi Jacqueline Ninio shares what mourning looks like in Jewish culture.<\/p>\n

After taking some leave over the holiday period, Mr Doolan is back at work, which he said has come as a relief.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He has also taken comfort from the support of his family, friends and colleagues, some of whom were also there on the night.<\/p>\n

“The boys that were there on the day, I feel like we’re going to probably have a special bond for the rest of our lives,” Mr Doolan said.<\/p>\n

“I’d look around, and all the boys were sort of there, and we’d just give each other a nod.”<\/p>\n

That bond they now share has helped him and his surf lifesaving family cope.<\/p>\n

Mr Doolan was amongst other heroes, including Ahmed al-Ahmed, to receive a standing ovation at the SCG at the final Test of the Ashes series.<\/p>\n

\"Mr<\/p>\n

Chaya and Mr Doolan saw each other during the final Test of the Ashes series. (Supplied)<\/p>\n

Lifeguard image went viral<\/p>\n

In the aftermath of the attack, an image of Mr Doolan running toward the scene barefoot and holding a defibrillator went viral.<\/p>\n

Parents of youngest Bondi terror victim speak out<\/a><\/p>\n

The parents of 10-year-old Matilda, the youngest victim of the Bondi terror attack, recall the final moments leading up to the shooting, paying tribute to the woman who saved their younger daughter.<\/p>\n

That night he was about 15 minutes from finishing his shift at nearby Bronte when he heard gunshots reverberating from Bondi Beach.<\/p>\n

A radio call came through from colleagues, already at the scene, requesting as many first aid supplies as possible.<\/p>\n

He and a trauma nurse who heard what had happened jumped into his car and drove toward Bondi.<\/p>\n

They arrived at neighbouring Tamarama when it quickly occurred to them that the area would have been cordoned off by police, so they stopped the car and ran.<\/p>\n

“I had no shoes on, which was fine to me. I’m from Queensland, so a lot of us get around in barefoot up there,” Mr Doolan said.<\/p>\n

“I’ve grabbed the defibrillator, and I didn’t even think, to be honest. I just knew I needed to help. There wasn’t much thought into it.”\"Mr<\/p>\n

Mr Doolan is still processing what he saw that evening. (ABC News: Geoff Kemp)<\/p>\n

Mr Doolan recalled hundreds of people running in the opposite direction, but the fact that he was running into danger did not cross his mind.<\/p>\n

“My brain was probably just in fight or flight mode and I just knew that the victims needed the defibrillator, and they probably needed all the first aid supplies,” he said.<\/p>\n

“It’s sort of, I guess, in our DNA \u2026 I was backing up my friends and I knew that they’d been an attack on our community and I just wanted to help. That was it.”<\/p>\n

While Bondi and the nation is still grieving, Mr Doolan is adamant about one thing: “I know that we won’t be defined by this.”<\/p>\n

“It’s just such an iconic beach, time heals everything and I think with time the Bondi community can get through it together,” he said.<\/p>\n

“When we struggle, someone picks you up. It’s just the way things work down here. We love each other. There’s just so much love.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Much of Jackson Doolan’s memory from December 14 is a blur, but there is one moment that remains…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":428497,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[64,63,27931,224696,224695,32557,38324,224694,224691,27569,196690,85,224692,120749,224693],"class_list":["post-428496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-bondi","tag-chanukah-by-the-sea","tag-december-14","tag-defibrillator","tag-hero","tag-jacko","tag-jackson-doolan","tag-lifeguard","tag-national-day-of-mourning","tag-sports","tag-tamarama-beach","tag-terror-attack","tag-who-was-the-lifeguard-that-ran-to-help-at-bondi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=428496"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428496\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/428497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=428496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=428496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=428496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}