Love Machine shooting: Security guard helped wounded colleagues

A security guard who took a bullet to the shoulder spent up to ten minutes helping his colleagues who were gunned-down in a drive-by shooting at a Prahran nightclub.

A brave security guard who took a bullet to the shoulder continued helping others in the aftermath of a Prahran nightclub shooting that claimed the life of his colleague.

Semisi Tu’itufu was working outside Love Machine nightclub when his co-worker, Aaron Khalid Osmani, and patron, Richard Arow, were gunned down during a drive-by shooting in April 2019.

Mr Tu’itufu’s police statement was read out during a Supreme Court trial on Thursday, detailing his concern for his injured colleagues and club-goers — despite being wounded himself.

Aaron Khalid Osmani was killed in a shooting outside Love Machine Nightclub.

“After the shooting when I knew the car was gone I heard people screaming and girls were crying. I tried to comfort a few girls at the front,” he said.

“I didn’t tell anyone that I had been shot because I wanted Aaron and Richard to be taken care of first. I had seen where they had been shot, they didn’t look good.”

In the shooting’s aftermath, Mr Tu’itufu stopped others from running out of the club, telling them to stay inside where it was safe before returning to help fellow bouncer, Mr Osmani, who had been shot in the head.

“I started to bend down. That’s when I fell, I couldn’t bend down because of where I had been shot,” he said.

Love Machine nightclub.. Picture: David Geraghty

When defence lawyer Campbell Thomson asked Mr Tu’itufu if he’d continued aiding others for up to ten minutes before seeking help for himself, he replied: “That’s correct”.

“Has anybody commended you for your bravery after you were shot?,” Mr Thomson asked Mr Tu’itufu.

“Not to this day,” he replied.

Mr Tu’itufu said he struggled to sleep or put on clothes due to his injuries and required ongoing pain relief and physiotherapy nearly three years after the shooting.

Another survivor, Ukash Ahmed, had his statement read to the court on Friday, describing the “excruciating pain” he felt when he was struck by a bullet.

Jacob Elliott being taken by police into custody in 2019. Picture: AAP

“All of a sudden my right arm went numb... I looked down and blood was pouring out my arm,” he said.

“At that moment I knew I had been shot.”

Mr Ahmed ran from the club and along Chapel Street before others helped him.

“I have no idea who would have done this, I think I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he said.

The horror details came to light during the ongoing trial of Jacob Elliott and Allan Fares, who pleaded not guilty to murder and attempted murder over the shooting that left two men dead and wounded three others.