Damien Guerot: Heroic ‘bollard man’ who fought knife-wielding maniac on Westfield Bondi Junction escalator reveals what it was like to come face-to-face with the killer

A French traditionalist who picked up a bollard and turned on the Westfield Bondi knifeman said the crazed killer had ’empty eyes’.

Damien Guerot and was going to the gym with his Frenchman Silas Despreaux on Saturday afternoon when they stumbled upon the scene of the carnage.

Sir. Guerot picked up a retractable barrier and confronted the killer, Joel Cauchi, 40, as he advanced menacingly up an escalator.

Footage of the tense stand-off went viral on social media, with many praising Mr Guerot’s bravery.

Now the French construction worker has revealed how he and Mr Despreaux thwarted Cauci’s killing spree.

“We tried to catch him, but he was coming down the stairs,” Guerot told 7News.

‘Then we saw him go down, so we followed him from the top. We might have tried to throw the bollard to him, but we couldn’t.’

Sir. Guerot said he was running from pure ‘adrenaline’.

‘We didn’t think. You can’t think in that moment, he said.

Sir. Guerot said Cauchi had “blank eyes” and photos of him released today looked nothing like the man who went on an indiscriminate knife-killing spree.

“His eyes were like empty eyes… he wasn’t there,” Mr Guerot said.

The two comrades fired the bollards at Cauchi, but he managed to escape.

Mr. Guerot grabbed a chair and chased NSW Police Inspector Amy Scott, who shot and killed Cauci after he lunged at her.

The Frenchman praised Inspector Scott’s quick thinking.

“She was actually the hero, she got the job done,” he said.

Social media was awash with praise for Mr Guerot.

“This guy trying to hold back a killer with a bollard is truly a hero,” wrote one.

Another added: ‘He deserves a medal.’

Cauchi fatally stabbed six people and injured at least 12 more in a rampage at the busy mall on Saturday afternoon.

There are fears the death toll could rise as three people, including a baby, fight for their lives.