Teen tried to shield his grandad from Tunisia beach massacre gunman as his uncle and brother were shot dead, inquest hears
A TEENAGER who tried in vain to shield his grandad from a rampaging gunman who murdered three members of his family in the Tunisia terror attack was praised for his "extraordinary courage" by a coroner today.
Owen Richards, who was 16 at the time, was wounded while helping Patrick Evans, 78, try to escape as ISIS extremist Seifeddine Rezgui hunted down victims in a beachside hotel in Sousse.
Patrick was shot dead along with Owen's uncle Adrian Evans, 49, and brother Joel Richards, 19, less than 12 hours after the family arrived in the resort in June 2015.
They were among 38 tourists - including 30 Britons - killed by Rezgui on the beach and at the five-star Riu Imperial Marhaba Hotel.
Today an inquest heard how the West Midlands family, who were enjoying the first day of a "boys' outing", fled from the outdoor pool area after hearing gunshots from the direction of the beach.
Owen was grazed on the shoulder by a bullet that went on to hit his uncle Adrian in the head, killing him instantly.
In a police interview back in the UK, Owen described how he had been sitting on a lilo in the pool when he heard what sounded like "firecrackers, but a lot deeper".
His brother Joel, an aspiring top-flight football referee, was sitting on the edge of the pool, and his uncle and grandfather were on sun loungers a short distance away.
As guests began to flee, both teenagers ran to the older men before making for the hotel.
Once inside they pressed the button for the lift but decided not to wait for it to arrive and ran to the indoor pool as Rezgui made his way around the corner.
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Owen told police: "On the way grandad kept falling over so he was not very fast.
"I saw the person running after us and he just came around the corner. Clearly we knew he had caught up with us.
"Ade (Adrian) dived down and laid down. I was still holding grandad, trying to help him run."
As the gunman approached, Owen and his grandad, known to his family as Pat, fell to the floor.
He said: "I was hugging grandad on the floor and then I could see out of my right hand corner my brother and seeing him dive to the floor.
"Then Joel screamed - I think he shouted 'no' three times, like pleading him to stop.
"He lifted the gun up and I closed my eyes, then I heard a bunch of shots."
Owen described seeing Pat was wounded, adding: "Granddad just said, 'he's got me'."
Rezgui moved closer and shot Pat again at close range as Owen was still clinging to his grandfather.
Realising his brother was lying nearby, Owen said: "I hit his foot a few times, telling him to get up.
"You could see in his eyes that he was not alive - there was no life in his eyes."
His uncle was also lying motionless a little further away and Owen ran to the neighbouring Soviva hotel before being taken in an ambulance for medical treatment for a wound on his left shoulder.
The coroner, Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith, said: "It seems to me Owen behaved with extraordinary courage while trying to protect his grandfather."
Last week another survivor told the inquest revealed the last words of her "hero" husband.
Dad-of-three Stephen Mellor, 59, "sacrificed himself" by lying on top of wife Cheryl to shield her from the bullets.
Mrs Mellor, from Bodmin, Cornwall, said in an emotional statement: “I am only here today due to the bravery of my husband Stephen.
“We were being shot and he protected me. Stephen stayed and saved me. He sacrificed himself. Stephen is a hero to me.”
The coroner has previously been told "quite a few lives" could have been saved if travel operator TUI had reviewed security at Tunisian resorts after the Bardo Museum shooting three months earlier.
The inquest continues.
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