By CAM LUCADOU-WELLS
AS KASUN Fernando and his then housemate waited to be served at a Mulgrave fast-food counter early one morning, in walked a taller man wearing a balaclava and wielding a sawn-off rifle, demanding their wallets.
“I thought it was a prank at first,” Mr Fernando said.
But as the gunman got up close to his face, pointing his rifle at him, Mr Fernando realised the situation was far more menacing.
What followed next that morning on 12 November 2012 earned Mr Fernando, 25, of Dandenong, and his friend Isha Wickramathunga each a Bravery Medal for acts of bravery in “hazardous circumstances” – as part of today’s Australian Bravery Awards list.
Mr Fernando said he riled the assailant first by refusing to hand over his wallet.
“There was no way he was getting my wallet,” he told the Journal last week.
When ordered to kneel, Mr Fernando was hindered by a recently strained knee ligament from playing rugby.
He assumed a half-kneeling squat – like the “flankers posture” in his beloved sport – which seemed to further infuriate the gunman.
The would-be robber turned his attention to the counter staff. As he tried to stuff the store’s cash into a bag, he placed his gun on the counter and turned away from Mr Fernando.
“I jumped on his neck and pulled him down,” Mr Fernando said.
The store was locked down. Mr Fernando’s friend helped him to hold the struggling gunman down for what seemed like about 15 minutes before police arrived.
Mr Fernando remembers punching the gunman’s head to help subdue him.
He said in the chaos, a store’s staff member laid the rifle down on the floor next to the struggling trio.
Pumped with adrenalin, Mr Fernando threw the rifle over the counter – still to this day not knowing if the firearm was loaded.
He said he had some “harsh” words for the staff member.
“I was really not scared of the gun,” he said of the incident.
“I was just waiting for the right moment to knock him down without hurting anyone.
“I did what I had to do at that stage.”
The shock of the incident hit Mr Fernando over the following weeks.
Living near the outlet at the time, he became worried about whether anyone was following him or any other recriminations.
He feels proud of today’s recognition.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”
