‘Pandemonium’, a woman in labour and every bandage in the clubhouse: how lifesavers became first responders in the Bondi shooting

‘I looked around, and someone already had a bandage ready to go.’ Liz Webb and Steven Larnach, presidents of the Bondi and North Bondi surf lifesaving clubs, stand at the Bondi Pavilion. Photograph: Blake Sharp-Wiggins/The Guardian

Lifeguards on Bondi beach are usually running into the surf to rescue civilians in need. On Sunday evening, they were running out of it.

Two concurrent Christmas parties were taking place at the Bondi and North Bondi surf lifesaving clubs when shots rang out in Sydney’s east on Sunday, and dozens more lifesavers were stationed on the beach patrolling what had been a busy, sunny afternoon.