Coroner praises courage of Owen Richards who, aged 16 at time of 2015 Sousse attack, held 78-year-old relative as he was killed

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

A survivor of the Tunisia terror attack held his grandfather in his arms as he was shot dead along with his older brother and uncle, an inquest has heard.

Owen Richards, then aged 16, was trying to help his grandfather, Charles Evans, to escape Seifeddine Rezgui who, armed with a Kalashnikov, chased them and his brother and uncle through the Imperial Marhaba hotel in Sousse on 26 June 2015.

In a statement read at the inquests into the deaths of 30 Britons killed by Rezgui, Owen said he was covered in his grandfather’s blood after the 78-year-old was shot twice.



In the immediate aftermath he witnessed his 19-year-old brother, Joel Richards, dead on the floor and his 49-year-old uncle, Adrian Evans, lying in a pool of blood.

Owen was commended by the coroner, Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith, for his “extraordinary courage” in trying to save his grandfather.

In his statement read by Samantha Leek QC, the counsel to the inquests, Owen described how he first heard gunfire as he floated on a lilo in the outdoor pool at the five-star hotel.



The four men started to make their way into the hotel complex towards the indoor pool area, when Rezgui, 23, caught up with them. “On the way Grandad kept falling over so he was not very fast,” he said.

“When we got to the inside pool I looked behind and I saw the person running after us.” Owen said he witnessed his uncle dive to the floor. “I was hugging Grandad on the floor,” he said.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Charles Evans, left, Joel Richards, centre, and Adrian Evans. Photograph: West Midlands Police/PA

“I could see out of my right hand corner Joel was standing and then Joel screamed. I think he shouted ‘no’, like he was pleading someone to stop.”

Owen said he saw the gunman lift his weapon before Owen closed his eyes. “I felt warm liquid splatter over me,” he said. “I opened my eyes. I could see Grandad had a hole in his neck. Grandad said ‘he got me’.



I could hear the footsteps coming back. I told him to stay still, to pretend to be dead. “I closed my eyes again. I heard a single bang next to my ear. I was hugging Grandad then I saw he had shot Grandad again.



Then warm liquid pouring over me and I got covered in it. I opened my eyes and I saw what happened to Grandad.”



Owen said he noticed that his brother was lying on the floor, so reached out and tapped his foot and told him to get up but received no response. I crawled over to him and then I could see in his eyes he was not alive,” he said. He then rose and saw his uncle lying in a pool of blood.

Earlier in the hearing, Owen’s mother said her family had been “destroyed” by the attack which claimed the lives of 38 holidaymakers.

Suzanne Richards, Joel’s mother, Adrian’s sister and Charles’s daughter, told the inquests the four relatives from the West Midlands were in Tunisia for a third time on a “jolly boys’ outing”, celebrating Owen completing his GCSE exams.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest The coffin of Joel Richards is carried off a Royal Air Force C-17 military transporter plane at RAF Brize Norton on 1 July 2015. Photograph: Joe Giddens/AFP/Getty Images

The last she heard from any of them was a text from Adrian on the morning of the attack saying they were all relaxing by the pool in the five-star beachfront hotel.

“How can four people go on holiday and only one come back?” Richards asked during tributes to her father, brother and son at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

“That fateful horrific morning destroyed my family – we are so broken and every day is a colossal struggle but we are so blessed that Owen survived,” she said.

“What he went through and what he witnessed is unimaginable.”

Joel, an aspiring football referee, Charles, a former magistrate, and Adrian, who worked for Sandwell council, were not able to witness Owen collect his GCSE results, Richards said.

Paying tribute to her son, who was a London 2012 Olympic torchbearer, she said: “Joel was robbed of his future and we were robbed of Joel. “He was my best friend and he was my life.”

“Part of me also died that day when my beautiful child was taken from me so cruelly and so unfairly.”

The inquests, set to run to the end of February, are currently hearing details of each of the 30 deaths.



Tunisia terror attack: inquests to resume with Tui under scrutiny Read more

The Foreign Office has given evidence about the travel advice for Tunisia at the time of the attack, which highlighted the threat of terrorism.

Some survivors of the atrocity, as well as relatives of the victims, have accused the travel firm Tui, owner of Thomson holidays, with whom all 30 Britons booked their trip, of failing to pass on the advice or flag it sufficiently.

Tui representatives have told the inquest that security was overseen by Tunisian authorities, and the coroner, Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith, was taken through slides highlighting how Tui customers could access the travel advice through its website.





