COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KRHD) — A Texas A&M rabbi who was shot twice while helping a wounded police officer during the Bondi Beach terror attack in Australia has returned home to College Station to continue his recovery.
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Rabbi Leibel Lazaroff of the Chabad Jewish Center at Texas A&M was helping with an event at Bondi Beach in December when gunfire erupted. The rabbi immediately recognized the sound of gunshots and knew what was about to happen.
"Right as I'm about to open the door to the car, I hear a gunshot and I right away, being from Texas, I right away knew that that was a gunshot and I right away knew what was about to happen," Lazaroff said.
A police officer who was engaging the shooters approached Lazaroff, screaming that he had been shot. The officer fell next to the rabbi, pointing to a wound just beneath his shoulder.
"I took off my shirt, tied it over the wound, and I told him, stay with me. I took off some of the weight as well," Lazaroff said.
While assisting the wounded officer, Lazaroff was shot twice. He was rushed to the hospital where he underwent 11 surgeries during a six-week stay. Surgeons told him he arrived in surgery just five minutes before it would have been too late to stop the bleeding.
The injuries have left Lazaroff facing a long recovery process. The entire left side of his core was severely damaged, requiring doctors to use thigh muscle to restore some strength to the area.
"We were looking at rehab for the next couple months, just physical rehab. You'll never be back to physically normal. The whole left side of my core got completely obliterated and they put some thigh muscle in order to try to give it some strength, so that way I can try to get back to as normal as possible," Lazaroff said.
Despite his injuries, the lifelong musician performed at the Sydney Opera House just hours after being released from the hospital.
"Surreal. It was really surreal to be just out of the hospital in that moment just a lot of emotions," Lazaroff said.
Now back in College Station, Lazaroff is focusing on maintaining a positive outlook during his recovery.
"When you find yourself in a difficult time, it's very, very easy to get beaten down by it. And the hardest thing, but the most rewarding thing is to try to think positively. My entire experience in the hospital, I was thinking positively and it directly affected my situation," Lazaroff said.
Reflecting on his return home, Lazaroff said being back means he made it through the ordeal.
"To be able to fly back home and be home, means that I made it," Lazaroff said.
For now, the focus is on rest and recovery as the young rabbi continues his healing process in the heart of Aggieland.
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