Not many people can say they’ve seen and survived a terrorist attack in a foreign country, but for Griffith man Simon Crump that’s exactly what happened.
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It was just another Tuesday, another day living and working as a PR consultant in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, when his life turned to terror. A gang of at least four al-Shabaab terrorists took the lives of 21 people in an attack that lasted over two hours.
Mr Crump soon found himself running for dear life with a group of colleagues as those extremists fired guns and set off explosions.
He messaged me earlier in the night when it was all happening to see if I was awake – I wasn't.
- Katie-Lee Carlin, Simon's sister
Family back home in Griffith are experiencing somewhat of a delayed reaction to the shock, having slept through the attack due to the time difference.
Making a grab for his phone and knowing there was every chance he may be killed in the onslaught, he and a group of others took refuge in a boardroom, upon the realisation it was too late to escape.
“I heard the explosion, followed by some gunshots, which obviously isn’t a good sign and not something you want to hear on a Tuesday afternoon,” Mr Crump told 9News.
With his phone in hand, he contacted loved ones, like his sister Katie-Lee Carlin back in Griffith, who woke to find text messages from her brother sent during the midst of the attack.
“He messaged me earlier in the night when it was all happening to see if I was awake – I wasn't,” she said.
“But because he had already said ‘it doesn’t matter I’m safe’ I don’t think it has really hit us yet.
“I was more confused because he wasn’t very clear, but I think by that stage we missed the scary part of it.”
Staying put during those two harrowing hours, the militants embarked on a murderous spree inside nearby buildings.
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Unarmed, and not knowing if those who eventually knocked on the door were friend or foe, he continued to communicate with loved ones as the barrage continued.
Security guards eventually freed the group, ordering them outside where they made a run for it with the sounds of gunfire echoing around them.
Mrs Carlin said his family and friends were all just relieved he was OK.
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