A local married couple have been hailed as Australian heroes after they were killed while confronting a gunman early in the Bondi Beach terror attack
Boris and Sofia Gurman were likely the first of 15 people murdered by father-and-son terrorists during a community Hanukkah celebration on Sunday.
Dash cam footage from a passing vehicle showed Mr Gurman, 69, wrestling a gun away from Sajid Akram after the 50-year-old gunman exited a car on Campbell Parade.
The car's dashboard was draped in a homemade Islamic State flag.
The men fell to the ground as Ms Gurman, 61, ran to the aid of her husband, who grabbed Akram's weapon.
But Akram's son and alleged accomplice, 24-year-old Naveed Akram, appeared to exit the car holding another gun moments later.
Drone vision later captured the married couple lying motionless on the footpath.
A statement from the Gurman family confirming their deaths said the pair were preparing to celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary in January, along with Ms Gurman's 62nd birthday on Wednesday.
Mr Gurman was a retired mechanic, while Ms Gurman worked at Australia Post.
"Together, they lived honest, hardworking lives and treated everyone they met with kindness, warmth and respect," it said.
"Boris and Sofia were devoted to their family and to each other. They were the heart of our family, and their absence has left an immeasurable void."
A GoFundMe set up by close friends said the couple's loss was "sudden, senseless, and deeply painful".
The Gurmans were described as long-time Bondi locals and people of deep kindness, quiet strength and unwavering care for others, as reflected by "Boris' act of bravery and selflessness".
"Their absence has left a void that cannot be filled," said the fundraiser, which accumulated more than $300,000 in less than 24 hours.
The Gurmans are among at least four passers-by who tried to take on the gunmen during Sunday's attack.
Reuven Morrison was killed after hurling a brick at Sajid Akram moments after the attacker's weapon was ripped away by shop owner Ahmed Al Ahmed, who was also shot but survived..
Mr Morrison's daughter said her 62-year-old father, who fled the Soviet Union for Australia, was a hero who refused to cower to the heavily armed terrorists.
"He did not lay low. He sprang to action. To fight," Sheina Gutnick said in a statement posted to LinkedIn.
"He was a man bigger than life itself."
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to the Gurmans and Mr Morrison.
"These are Australian heroes," he told reporters in Sydney on Wednesday morning.
"Just as Ahmed Al Ahmed, who was able to meet with yesterday, is an Australian hero."
The families of victims Rabbi Eli Schlanger and Rabbi Yaakov Levitan were preparing to bury the religious leaders after separate services on Wednesday.
A funeral service is expected to be held for 10-year-old girl Matilda on Thursday after her school remembered the attack's youngest victim as a "little ray of sunshine" with a radiant smile and infectious laugh.
"All Australians' thoughts and hearts are with those families as they go through farewelling their loved ones," Mr Albanese said.
Twenty-two people injured in the attack, including two police officers, continued to be treated in eight hospitals across Sydney on Wednesday morning.
