"The silence that fell upon the Bondi Pavilion forecourt was not the silence of peace, but the heavy, leaden quiet that follows an explosion of hate. Under the gathering dusk, a community stood bowed, its grief focusing on the most poignant loss: 10 year-old Matilda, the youngest victim of Sunday's terrorist attack by two gunmen that has so far claimed 15 innocent lives."
"I didn't expect to say anything, but I kind of end up here next to the microphone, said Matilda's father, tears strangling his voice. Matilda, aged 10, was the youngest victim of the bondi beach shooting. Photograph: Supplied by family We came here from the Ukraine and I named her Matilda because she was our firstborn in Australia. And I thought that Matilda was the most Australian name that could ever exist. So just remember remember her name."
"I can't imagine what is a monster that stands on that bridge, and seeing a little girl running for her father to hide with him, and and he just pulled the trigger on her... it wasn't an accident, it wasn't just a bullet, fired from a hill... it stays here she pressed the palm of her hand to her heart, hard it just stays here and here. She cannot continue to speak."
A mass shooting at Bondi Beach by two gunmen killed 15 people, including a 10-year-old girl named Matilda. Families, friends and residents gathered at the Bondi Pavilion forecourt in growing numbers to mourn and to remember victims. Matilda's parents, Ukrainian immigrants, described naming her to reflect their new life in Australia and urged others to remember her name. The mother conveyed visceral grief at the sight of her daughter being shot. Religious leaders began preparing burials and read the names of identified victims, including Rabbi Eli Schlanger and Peter Meagher.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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